Strangles

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Say several horses are displaying symptoms-snotty noses etc-would you blood test the whole yard? Is it needed if the rest aren’t showing symptoms or would you isolate and blood test only the obvious cases?

 

[dogatemysalad]

Call the vet to examine horses with possible symptoms and if vet thinks it's a possibility, blood test horses affected, isolate immediately and start yard infection control policy while awaiting results.
Ps. I wouldn't test the whole yard until strangles was confirmed, but any movement to and from the yard would cease once vet decided that bloods were necessary.

 

[Tash88]

Is there a reason to think it's strangles e.g. new horse arriving, lots of coming and going? If so, then I would start yard infection control now and stop travel, not that anyone is doing much of that at the moment.

My friend recently had a horse imported from Spain and he was showing symptoms, immediately he was isolated with infection control. Luckily his test came back negative

 

[Ample Prosecco]

Immediately isolate the symptomatic horses and put them in a 'red' field or zone. Isolate the direct contacts of the symptomatic horses and out them in an 'amber' field or area. The rest need to be locked down on the yard (ie no movement off the yard) until strangles is excluded. If strangles is confirmed either the diagnosing vet or the yard's main vet should be the desigated vet in charge of the outbreak and tell everyone what to do. YO needs to make sure everyone is on this IMMEDIATELY and compliant. I was on a yard with a strangles outbreak and the YO did not enforce any of the protocols and owners did their own thing and it went on for months and months. We had owners leaving mid outbreak. Hoirses being hacked out. Horses with symptoms being hidden. It was a disaster.

 

[dorsetladette]

I'd want to behave like it was strangles until proven otherwise. But I don't think I'd be testing the whole yard until results are back from ones showing symptoms.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

Protocols all in place, strict reinforcement/disinfectant galore, nobody touches anyone else’s horse. YO has been brilliant with this, even before confirmation of 2 positives. Sorry, wasn’t asking about controls, that’s very much in hand.

All horses have had 2 blood tests, 2 weeks apart, even if not showing symptoms. I just wondered if it was the norm to take bloods for all.

 

[meleeka]

Protocols all in place, strict reinforcement/disinfectant galore, nobody touches anyone else’s horse. YO has been brilliant with this, even before confirmation of 2 positives. Sorry, wasn’t asking about controls, that’s very much in hand.

All horses have had 2 blood tests, 2 weeks apart, even if not showing symptoms. I just wondered if it was the norm to take bloods for all.

Yes it’s normal as horses are sometimes carriers without having any symptoms at all.