Strangles - Weird test results

[Barbie]

So I've recently bought a horse and decided to have him blood tested for strangles before moving him home from the dealer, just to be cautious. The result was borderline so the vet recommended a guteral pouch wash. The PCR and culture came back negative but three days after that was taken the horse is pouring with snot/puss and has developed large lumps in his neck. There is some debate over the care taken during the scoping, the vet who did it said it looked fine but he doesn't have a great reputation within the field (he's the only vet who covers the dealers yard, my only option). Has anyone else experienced this? I've done all three of the possible tests and if it wasn't for a 24 hour delay in finding transport I would have still brought home a strangles infected pony which has clear lab reports and looked fine! Thank God I didn't, I would not have been popular on the yard, but it blows my mind that this can happen?

 

[ester]

The fact that only one vet covers the dealers yard has me curious as to who the dealer is. I suspect others will have similar suspicions.

I really would be questioning the quality of the sample. Good PCR tests usually pick up <10 genome copies, it would be rare to market anything higher and obviously doesn't matter if viable or not.

 

[Barbie]

The fact that only one vet covers the dealers yard has me curious as to who the dealer is. I suspect others will have similar suspicions.

I really would be questioning the quality of the sample. Good PCR tests usually pick up <10 genome copies, it would be rare to market anything higher and obviously doesn't matter if viable or not.

The PCR and culture was done by my vets chosen lab and they also did the blood test so I'm confident the issue does not lie with the quality of the test. I agree with you on the sample taking issue, I'm definitely not confident on that! I have been told by this vet that he doesn't know how it could have happened and he doesn't know what to suggest as a plan moving forwards. Good job I have my own vet giving me very good telephone advice.

 

[SEL]

Got to wonder about which horse's sample actually went to the lab in my very cynical opinion!

It was a horse from a dealer Essex way which brought strangles onto one of my old yards. Absolute nightmare.

 

[Barbie]

Got to wonder about which horse's sample actually went to the lab in my very cynical opinion!

It was a horse from a dealer Essex way which brought strangles onto one of my old yards. Absolute nightmare.

I can see where you're coming from but for some reason I entirely trust the dealer, just not the vet. The dealer was very supportive of me wanting the tests done. They've kept the horse in isolation on full livery for the last two weeks for free while it has been done and now they're offering to keep the horse for free for as long as it takes to get him well and strangles free which could be months. Bearing in mind I've already paid for this horse they could quite easily tell me to pick him up from them or charge me livery. Buying from dealers with high turnover of horses is always a risk and I thought I was being as cautious as possible. They do get a bad reputation but this one could not have been more helpful so far.

 

[ester]

The main issue if the horse recovers is if you have to do pre-livery testing, this seems to be more prevalent in some areas than others.

 

[Barbie]

The main issue if the horse recovers is if you have to do pre-livery testing, this seems to be more prevalent in some areas than others.

It isn't common in my area to test when moving to a new yard but I am going to have to be confident he's clear and doesn't become a carrier before I bring him home. He's got a long road ahead of him and given that I've done all three tests and none are positive despite him having strangles I'm not sure how I'll be able to be confident!?

 

[ester]

Just thought it worth mentioning as it wasn't tthe ase in my area so it surprised me how common it was in others.

True if you are stuck with that vet though.

 

[marmalade88]

My old boy was borderline. I had him GPW'd and he was clean. I watched the procedure on the monitor and them going into the pouch with the flusher and implement - I think this could irritate them if done incorrectly or too roughly. For my boy I think he'd been exposed over the year and built up antibodies (this is how vet explained it) that showed up on the screening but wasn't an asymptotic carrier.
Have you phoned the vet to ask? I would expect to be able to talk to vet post procedure to talk through any queries.