A team of researchers from BatOneHealth, whose work in Australia focusses on the causes behind the virus, believes the climatic conditions predicted throughout the upcoming winter are very similar to those experienced in the winters of 2011 and 2017, when there were large numbers of cases recorded.

Hunter Local Land Services district veterinarian, Dr Lyndell Stone, said the increased risk was linked to a reduction in food sources for flying foxes, who were responsible for spreading the virus.

"They have to forage more widely and end up in trees on farms," Dr Stone said.

Bodily fluids from the flying foxes can then drop on the grass and if a horse comes in contact with them they can contract the virus, she explained.

Dr Stone said the virus could prove problematic to diagnose in horses because the symptoms were not always clearly distinguishable.

Respiratory signs, such as difficulty breathing, and/or neurological signs, such as a lack of coordination in the legs and muscle twitching, were among the more common symptoms.

The animals could also spread the virus to other horses before showing any indication of being infected themselves.

However, Dr Stone said most horses that contracted the virus died in one to two days.

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Four people have died from the virus since it was discovered at a racing stable in Brisbane in 1994, although the Queensland Government's viral infections page advises that transmission between horses and humans is rare.

Previously thought only to occur in geographical areas north of the Manning-Great Lakes, Dr Stone said last year's case in Scone proved that the Hendra virus could occur in the region and warned horse owners not to get complacent.

"The vaccine is the best way to prevent horses getting it," she said.

Dr Stone advised horse owners to discuss the Hendra virus vaccine with their veterinarian and also suggested simple precautions such as not feeding horses under trees as a way to minimise the risk of the animals coming in contact with the virus.

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