A number of Ontario fairs have cancelled horse shows because of concerns about strangles. Strangles is a nasty and highly contagious disease of horses caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi, which is currently circulating in horses in Ontario (as in most places where horses are present). While most horses recover uneventfully from the
Equine strangles persistence
This week, a horse show in Halifax (UK) was cancelled because of some local cases of strangles (Streptococcus equi subsp equi infection). We can debate whether that was prudent or overkill (or whether measures could have been put in place to reduce the risk and make it manageable), but it highlights the concerns that
Horses, strangles, streptococcus
A paper in the journal BMC Research Notes describes a case of meningitis in a 73-year-old man that was attributed to contact with a horse (Madzar et al 2015). The man was admitted to hospital with fever, headache, neck stiffness, malaise and drowsiness. He was ultimately diagnosed with meningitis caused by Streptococcus zooepidemicus
Strangles and psychology
A couple days ago, I was talking to a vet who’s trying to manage a strangles outbreak on a farm. In many outbreaks, the biggest hassles are dealing with horse owners, not the disease itself. Strangles, infection by the bacterium Streptococcus equi subsp. equi, is a highly contagious disease but one that is relatively easy
Will genomics eradicate strangles?
More from the International Conference on Equine Infectious Diseases, this time from guest blogger and bacteriologist-extraordinaire, Dr. John Prescott of the University of Guelph:
Stellar work on understanding strangles and Streptococcus equi subspecies equi was presented at the Ninth International Equine Infectious Disease conference in Lexington, Kentucky. Researchers at the Animal Health Trust in
Strangles outbreak at Saratoga
An outbreak of strangles (Streptococcus equi infection) has led to cancellation of the racing program at Saratoga Raceway in New York State. In a ripple effect, other racetracks in the region have taken measures to protect their horses, including banning horses from Saratoga, banning horses from surrounding tracks, not allowing horses that leave
Equine Quarantine Recommendations
Quarantine is an important, effective and underused practice on horse farms. Quarantine can reduce the risk of introducing new infectious agents to animals on the farm or limit the spread of something that’s already starting to circulate through the herd.
A recent article from TheHorse.com gives a good overview of why and how to implement
Equine Infectious Disease Information Sheets
EQUINE INFECTIOUS DISEASE INFORMATION SHEETS
Click on any of the highlighted links below for more information about these horse-related infectious disease topics. Topics that are not highlighted are in development and coming soon. New information will be added as it becomes available, so be sure to check this page regularly for the latest updates.
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