Strangles guttural pouch wash

[meleeka]

Has anyone had it done? Is it fairly straight forward? New horse has come back high on the blood test. I know she had strangles two years ago but the result was 0.7 so the vet wanted to do a scope. I’m slightly concerned that she said that’s tested then if positive they’ll do the guttural pouch wash. I didn’t think to ask at the time why they can’t just do the wash at the same time as the scope anyway to save on costs and time.

 

[SEL]

It was all done at the same time with my mare. Sedated, tube up nose and into pouches. Camera had a good look round then they put a wash up and collected the output for testing (negative) then second wash with antibiotics.

I guess with yours they are worrying she's a carrier so the camera will be looking for those nodules. I would imagine they'll do an antibiotic wash too though.

 

[Abi90]

My old gelding had it all done at the same time as well

 

[meleeka]

My old gelding had it all done at the same time as well

Thankyou. She definitely said two procedures because she it would be £400 and then the same again if it was positive. Hmm I think I need speak to them again.

 

[SEL]

Thankyou. She definitely said two procedures because she it would be £400 and then the same again if it was positive. Hmm I think I need speak to them again.

Hmmm - I'm pretty sure the protocol is on the AHT website somewhere but they can take the wash / samples and do antibiotics on #1 I would have thought.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Protocols at our vet is to scope first and wash as necessary - ie if test comes back positive. A wash is intrusive - syringing gallons through to flush everything out ("the solution to pollution is dilution") then packing in an antibiotic gel up the nose into the pouches which is hard work as you have to insert as it is thickening to a gel so it does not all run out again. Why do all that for a healthy horse? Not to mention to cost of it.

If they actually see chondroids (hardened pockets of pus) in the gutteral pouches - then they can decide to go straight ahead with a wash but otherwise I can['t see why any vet would do it.

 

[Ambers Echo]

ETA if you do the wash you need to re-test anyway to see if it has worked. It can take several washes to fully clear infection from a carrier. Testing and treating are very different. The test is a bit of a pain but they have a good look with the scope and then just collect a small sample of fluid for testing and if it's negative then nothing more needs to be done. If it's positive you are into a whole new set of protocols.

If I am understanding the above posters correctly some vets are going ahead with a wash 'just in case' with horses who later turn out to have tested negative on the scope?? Given that only about 1 in ten horses will scope positive after blood testing positive that sounds like a bit of a slightly dodgy money spinner to me. But maybe I have misunderstood as I find it hard to believe that is what is happening.

 

[Ambers Echo]

New horse has come back high on the blood test. I know she had strangles two years ago but the result was 0.7 so the vet wanted to do a scope.

Sorry Meleeka (you've you've got me onto my hobby horse....) but can I just clarify - if horse had strangles 2 years ago surely he/she was scoped after recovering? All strangles horses should be isolated till they are symptom free then re-tested and only allowed back into a herd or onto shared space once they have scoped clear. So you should be able to rule out the possibility that the horse has been a carrier since that episode 2 years ago. Generally horses become carriers because they were only mildly affected so no-one even knew they had ever had it. Not horses that were diagnosed. When you say 'new horse' - how new and where has he come from?

 

[meleeka]

Sorry Meleeka (you've you've got me onto my hobby horse....) but can I just clarify - if horse had strangles 2 years ago surely he/she was scoped after recovering? All strangles horses should be isolated till they are symptom free then re-tested and only allowed back into a herd or onto shared space once they have scoped clear. So you should be able to rule out the possibility that the horse has been a carrier since that episode 2 years ago. Generally horses become carriers because they were only mildly affected so no-one even knew they had ever had it. Not horses that were diagnosed. When you say 'new horse' - how new and where has he come from?

She wasn’t scoped after having it. This horse lived next door to my fields and owner is the sort that thinks he ought live in a caravan but doesn’t (which is how she contracted it, because he had a new horse delivered from one of his mates that already had it).

I’ve had her for two weeks and kept her In quarantine so far as she’s been away turned out with the mate’s horses since February.

 

[Ambers Echo]

Bugger. My bet is on her being a carrier then as the antibodies should be lower that that this long after infection. Either that or she has recently been re-infected and its her herd mate that is the carrier. Fingers crossed it's the latter. Guys like that drive me insane. This disease would be eradicated quite easily if people weren't so bl00dy irresponsible.

Sorry you are in this situation. Any chance of sending her back? (Though if course you may not want to).

 

[meleeka]

There’s no way she’s going anywhere. I’ve been trying to ‘rescue’ her from him for a few years now.
The horse that originally had it two years ago that infected her was pts because it had abscesses bursting out between its back legs. It was awful by the time anyone noticed as it was unhandled. She’s been out with another load somewhere else since Feb so I suppose it’s possible one of them is a carrier. There were a couple of foals there too so very sad if that’s the case.

 

[KP Nut]

Shes lucky shes ended up with you. It sounds like she was in an environment where it could have been rife so hopefully it's a reinfection issue not a carrier one. Xxx

 

[Ambers Echo]

Oops sorry that was me again. Keep forgetting I am auto signed in on an ancient name on my ancient phone and can't sign out and sign in as AE as I can't remember my password!

 

[meleeka]

Shes lucky shes ended up with you. It sounds like she was in an environment where it could have been rife so hopefully it's a reinfection issue not a carrier one. Xxx

I hope so although I understand it is fairly rare to be Re-infected once they’ve had it?

 

[flying_high]

I paid about 600 for strangles blood test which was just above acceptable then guttural pouch wash to get samples to run at vet hospital to see if carrier. Wasn’t a carrier.

I could have waited and re run low bloods but clear result needed to move yards pre my surgery.

 

[Ambers Echo]

I have been using the term 'wash' to mean the treatment of flushing through and not the test to extract a sample from the pouches. Perhaps they are both 'washes'?

Maybe this is where some confusion lies between what is a diagnostic test and what is part of treatment?

 

[flying_high]

I have been using the term 'wash' to mean the treatment of flushing through and not the test to extract a sample from the pouches. Perhaps they are both 'washes'?

Maybe this is where some confusion lies between what is a diagnostic test and what is part of treatment?

Yes I think they have to flush pouches to extract sample to test. That’s the terminology my vets used. Pouch flushing is a 2 vet procedure which makes it more expensive