The equine influenza virus that devastated the horse industry entered Australia innocuously on a flight to Melbourne on August 8 last year.
Thirteen horses on the flight were from Japan, and 11 carried the virus, including the stallion Snitzel, which the Arrowfield Stud had lent to the Japanese for breeding - one of the first Australian horses to participate in the program.
From the airport, nine of the horses went to Spotwood Quarantine Station, where quarantine procedures appeared to be efficient, and four via Sydney Airport to the Eastern Creek Quarantine Station, where they were not.
Which horse or horses actually had the virus has not been determined, but wherever it was, it deposited itself on the clothes, hands and instruments of the various people who attended to them, including grooms, farriers and veterinarians.
As it transpired in the later inquiry, some were less than conscientious in carrying out strict measures to prevent infection getting out.
The incubation and infection period of the virus indicated that a horse, initially infected on the arrival of the horses on August 8, would have become infected by August 13 and would have remained infected for 10 days.
Individuals unwittingly carried the virus from the quarantine station and distributed it through a wide area.
By August 17, Encosta De Lago, which had been housed at the station, showed symptoms of equine influenza.
But on that day - the first indication there was a problem - local horses were taken to an equestrian event at Anambah, near Maitland, and were exposed to the virus which had been transported there from Eastern Creek.
On August 20, a horse in the stable next to Encosta De Lago also showed signs of equine influenza. Veterinary investigation showed five horses at the centre were infected.
The virus was almost identical to a sub-type identified in an outbreak in Japan.
The virus was highly contagious. On August 22, two horses showed symptoms of the disease at the Centennial Park Equestrian Centre.
Three days later, sick horses were reported elsewhere, including Cooranbong on the Central Coast, Arcadia on Sydney's outskirts, Tamworth and the outskirts of Brisbane.
By October 10, there were 4500 infected premises in an area of 278,000 square kilometres.
On August 28, the outbreak of the disease was announced and measures were taken to contain it.
The Australian Racing Board called for a judicial inquiry.
On September 2, the then Prime Minister, John Howard, announced the appointment of former High Court justice Ian Callinan to conduct the inquiry.
In December, following rapid deployment of veterinary precautions throughout the country, the Federal Agricultural Minister, Tony Burke, said the virus would be eradicated within months.
Early this year the equine industry confirmed the crisis was over.
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