HORSE owners in the Dublin, Meath and Kildare areas are advised to be on high alert following an outbreak of strangles disease in the north Dublin area. The respiratory tract infection, caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi, can cause fever, nasal discharge, depression and abscesses in horses, ponies and donkeys and is highly contagious and common.

Treatment often revolves around supportive care, good stable management and hygiene, and this is determined by the attending veterinary surgeon.

GOOD PRACTICE

Des Leadon, clinical consultant with the Irish Equine Centre, did not comment on any specific reported case or area, but said: “Strangles is endemic here and in most countries with a significant equine population, so it is no surprise to hear of an occasional flare-up. There is no cause for alarm as long as horse owners are adhering to good practices and behaving responsibly.

“Anyone with a horse displaying symptoms of strangles should have their horse tested. If it returns positive then do not move the horse until it has returned to full health and screen the animals it was in contact with.

“On returning home from any event where horses are gathered and there is a risk of infection, owners should isolate those horses from the rest of their stock for a period. That should be an ever-present feature of good animal husbandry.”

STRANGLES SYMPTOMS

  • The horse appears depressed, dull, and stops eating
  • Typically, the temperature rises to 41°C
  • After a few days lymph nodes around the throat swell, forming abscesses
  • The horse can have difficulty breathing and swallowing (hence the name ‘strangles’)
  • A nasal discharge is at first clear and then becomes purulent (thick with signs of pus), after the abscesses have ruptured in the nasal passages