THE current Newmarket strangles scare comes hot on the heels of recent cases of the dreaded and highly contagious bacterial disease appearing in Northern Ireland.

Newmarket - the epicentre of British racing - is home to well over 3,000 racehorses and the affected Marco Botti-trained horse has been moved to an isolation yard outside the area.

The horse was one of four Botti took to Dubai for the World Cup Carnival which were Energia Davos, Energia Fox, Energia Fribby and Edu Querido. However there was a swift rebuttal from the Emirates Racing Authority against any suggestion that the horse contracted the disease there as they have not had a case in their thoroughbred racing population for over 10 years.

Two other horses of Botti’s are being monitored at his second yard at the foot of the famous Warren Hill training rounds and reportedly show no signs of the disease.

The British Horseracing Authority has been liaising with Botti and its counterparts in the UAE, the Emirates Racing Authority.

Wednesday’s ERA statement denied the horse could have contracted strangles while quarantined in Dubai.

“The ERA can confirm that there has not been a case of strangles in the UAE thoroughbred racing population for more than 10 years and there were no signs suggestive of strangles at any time in horses participating in the Dubai International Racing Carnival.

“It should be noted that the apparent symptoms of strangles were not identified until 14 days after the horse arrived back at Newmarket. This would indicate that the horse was infected post-departure from the UAE.

“As a precautionary measure, blood samples taken from the applicable horse during its stay in the UAE and prior to its departure are currently being analysed for strangles. The ERA will release the results once the analysis is complete as final confirmation that the horse in question was clear of the contagion before it left the UAE,” read the statement.

The Newmarket racing community is on high alert should any other horses demonstrate signs of strangles as it is a highly contagious bacterial disease.

VACCINE

Professor Tom Buckley of the Irish Equine Centre said that Ireland does see cases of strangles recorded practically every week - although actual widespread outbreaks of the disease are thankfully not common.

“In my 31 years here, hardly a week goes by that we would not see a case of strangles reported to us in the Irish Equine Centre but thankfully not outbreaks,” reported Prof. Buckley.

Strangles is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi and there is a vaccine available for it in Ireland - Equilis StrepE - administered into the upper lip of horses and ponies.

Equine Veterinary Adviser with MSD, Joanne Cregg, told The Irish Field: “Equilis StrepE reduces the clinical signs of strangles and the occurrence of lymph node abscesses in horses that are at risk of Streptococcus equi infection such as competition horses, horses in livery yards, horses at the sales, stud-related movement etc.

“The vaccine is administered by injection into the upper lip of the horse, proven to be well tolerated in clinical trials. The vaccine can be given to foals from four months of age and two injections should be given at a four-week interval.”