Strangles Diagnosis (Which Samples? Which Analysis?)

Strangles, caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies equi, (S. equi) is the most frequently diagnosed infectious disease of horses worldwide and is characterised by abscessation of the lymph nodes of the head and neck. Abscesses formed in the retropharyngeal lymph nodes usually rupture into the guttural pouches, which drain via the nostrils leading to the classical mucopurulent nasal discharge associated with strangles. However, the purulent material in the guttural pouches of a proportion of animals fails to drain completely, enabling live S. equi to persist in horses that have recovered from the acute disease for up to several years in the absence of obvious clinical signs [4]. S. equi periodically sheds from these persistently infected carrier horses, allowing transmission to naïve individuals and resulting in new outbreaks of disease. The generation and persistence of carriers within equine populations has likely been critical to the spread of S. equi infection and global impact of this pathogen. This presentation reviews the diagnostic methods and management strategies available for the identification of infected horses and the eradication of S. equi infection. […]