The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) has confirmed 10 cases of “equine strangles” in the Waterloo-Wellington area, but officials say horse owners need not be alarmed.
“The disease seems to have run its course on the index farm, with no new cases reported,” said Dr. Alison Moore, OMAF’s lead veterinarian, animal health and welfare.
Strangles is a highly contagious infection for horses and members of the equine family that is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi.
Transmission occurs by direct nose-to-nose contact with infected horses or via contact with contaminated surfaces, objects or people (e.g. twitches, tack, buckets, feed troughs, stall walls, fences).
Such an issue is a concern for the equine industry because the bacterium can survive indoors for weeks to months depending on the temperature.
“It is highly contagious and outbreaks are easy to develop when things are not handled aggressively (and sometimes even if things are done right),” said Dr. Scott Weese, of the department of pathobiology at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph.
“It’s a potentially serious disease. Most often, horses recover, but it can take some time and horses can be off work for extended periods of time because of the disease and need for isolation.”
Weese adds, “A small percentage of horses will develop serious complications (e.g. abscesses deep in their body, abscesses around the throat that can kill them by restricting their respiratory tract (hence the name ‘strangles’) or require a tracheotomy, and some other complications that can be very serious. Death rates are low but not negligible.”
The OMAF press release states “the reported cases of strangles have predominantly shown signs of high fever (40-41ºC) and mucopurulent nasal discharge with only occasional horses developing enlarged lymph nodes with abscessation.”
OMAF suggests the following prevention methods:
– isolating new horses coming on to the farm, or those returning from extended absences, for two to three weeks, testing them to ensure that they are not shedding the bacterium;
– if isolation cannot be performed, barn managers should ask for proof of strangles-free status (based on recent testing) prior to accepting new horses; and
– discuss vaccination options with a large animal veterinarian.
“Strangles is endemic in areas around the province and there is no need to panic,” Moore said.
“This is not a new disease. The point of the alert was to remind horse owners and farm managers that they need to be aware that the disease is around but they have a good chance at preventing it from coming into their stable if they make sure that new boarders are not carrying the disease and that horse owners going to events/schoolers/shows use common sense (ie: don’t share buckets, grooming supplies etc with horse owners from other farms and no nose-to–nose contact between horses from other stables).”
Weese said there are periodic strangles outbreaks across the province, but he suggests this notice serves as a beneficial reminder of the importance of biosecurity.
“There’s probably not much more strangles activity now compared to previous years, it’s mainly that people have gotten more worked up about it,” said Weese.
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since laxity with general infection control practices, reluctance to admit there’s a problem and various other illogical (and sometimes unethical) practices are very common and increase the risk of transmission.”
Weese added, “It’s a disease that is reasonably easy to control if things are done right, it’s just that people often aren’t willing to do what’s required.”
The Ontario Equestrian Federation (OEF) agrees the key issue is prevention.
“This recent strangles outbreak serves as a reminder of the importance of having biosecurity measures in place to help minimize the spread of disease among Ontario’s equine population,” said Dianne Graham, the executive director of OEF.
“We encourage horse owners to consult with their veterinarians to discuss preventative measures and educate themselves about how infections, like strangles, are spread. It is the responsibility of everyone who is involved with horses to do their part to reduce the spread of disease.”
For more information on prevention of strangles visit http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com or visit www.omafra.
