Letters to the Editor, February 27, 2013

I refer to the report concerning the groundbreaking research into "brittle tail syndrome" in racehorses ("Professor solves mystery in the tail", February 20).

The article, while correctly hailing the efforts of Professor Yuen Kwong-yung and his team at the University of Hong Kong, unfortunately overlooked the true extent of the collaboration between the Hong Kong Jockey Club and HKU.

It should be noted that the veterinary team at the Jockey Club first identified and named this novel syndrome back in 2004.

While it is right to credit Professor Yuen and his team for their very significant contribution to identifying the specific fungus responsible for causing the condition among horses at the Jockey Club, it should be noted that a large body of work performed by many others, including veterinarians at the Jockey Club, had previously identified that the syndrome was caused by a fungus.

It was after these experts had conducted thorough scientific investigation and identified a fungal cause that the club engaged Professor Yuen's team at HKU for further investigation through specialised micro- biological tests.

This was done in the correct belief that the university's advanced research facilities and Professor Yuen's expertise in this area would accomplish the headline breakthrough.