This is a bacterial disease of horses and other
equines. The incidence has been low but
may be increasing. Traditionally young
horses are at greatest risk but with less chance of exposure over the last
generations, older horses may not have had the opportunity to develop
immunity. After a natural infection that
runs its course, there is a long lasting but not lifetime immunity. Horses may be chronic carriers. It is a difficult and expensive procedure to
prove that an individual horse is not a carrier.
Prevention: Vaccination may help reduce the frequency and
severity of the disease but does not provide a solid immunity in some
horses. There are two types of vaccine,
an intranasal modified live (Pinnacle) and
an intramuscular M protein
extract (Strepvaxx II). Some
veterinarians believe that the modified live vaccine can produce disease but
that has not been my experience. The M
protein extract may cause swelling and soreness at the injection site. The disease is primarily transmitted by contact,
direct and indirect. Compared to viral
respiratory diseases, it is not transmitted easily by aerosol over distances. Quarantine sick horses. Quarantine
of new horses in a barn for two to three weeks especially if they have come
from a public sale or dealer is a good
idea. At a show do not let your horse have direct
contact with other horses, graze, or drink from a common trough. At an overnight show stabling is a potential
problem. A true disinfection of the stall
is not possible. A hand garden sprayer
with dilute chlorine applied to the inside of the stall might reduce the
potential load of bacteria but not help your relationship with neighbors.
Treatment: If you have a horse with a fever and a copious
nasal discharge or enlarged, painful lymph nodes, seek advice from your vet.
If you want the full story (and want be scared to death
about potential but rare complications) here is a link to the American College
of Veterinary Internal Medicine Consensus Statement on strangles .
Some of the recommendations may not be
applicable to individual situations for financial or practical reasons.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2005.tb02671.x/pdf
