According to Rachel Nash, a columnist for the Northwest Wales Pioneer, a fatal disease in horses could have a devastating impact on the regionâs economy.
Protecting horses from infectious strangles disease
The Northop Equine Centre has been closed to incoming horses and the general public as a precautionary measure to safeguard horses from the strangles outbreak following a recommendation by the college's vet and in common with similar decisions by many other livery yards across the region.
In recent weeks, an outbreak of Strangles disease has spread across North Wales and has been recorded as far east as Llandyrnog. This painful disease that affects the horse's glands can be fatal in some cases.
Llandyrnog county councillor, Merfyn Parry called on the Welsh Government to do more to protect horses from the disease.
He said: âThe problem is this is not a notifiable disease so they donât have to tell people if their animals have it like you have to do in the case of Foot and Mouth, which is ridiculous really because this disease causes a lot of pain and suffering to horse.
âThe Welsh Government need to make it a notifiable disease so people can take relevant precautions.â
He also warned that the outbreak could have terrible consequences for local businesses, saying: âThis could be devastating for the equine economy because it is very infectious and people can carry it on them so it can spread,â he added.
People involved with horses have already had to take precautions to try and stop the spread of the disease.
Horse owner Ceris Williams, from Cynwyd said: âWe have made the decision that for now we will stay at home with the ponies and not start the show season. Strangles is a disease that constantly travels around the UK, so not so rare when there are many travelling to shows or selling or purchasing, but we have to be responsible owners and take precautions, so for that it will be a quiet few weeks for us until we hear from area vets that the disease has no more new cases.â
East Clwyd Riding Club has cancelled its events for the month of April, and one of North Wales biggest equine centres, at Coleg Cambria, has been closed in response to the outbreak.
A spokesperson for the college said: âColeg Cambria has decided to close the Northop Equine Centre to incoming horses and the general public as a precautionary measure following a recommendation by the college's vet and in common with similar decisions by many other livery yards across the region. The decision has been taken to safeguard our horses from the recent 'strangles outbreak'.
âAppropriate hygiene arrangements have been put in place to ensure that students will continue to attend college as normal. We will continue to review the situation and hope to re-open the yard as soon as possible.â
Horse vet Richard Owen, of RD Owen Equine Clinic in St Asaph has been encouraging yards to act to prevent the spread of the disease.
He said: âIt is a contact disease, so with adequate hygiene procedures we should be able to control it. It has slowed down a lot in the past ten days, and that is due to the restriction in the movement of horses."
âMy advice to equestrian centres is to close down for at least two weeks â the incubation period â and ideally for three weeks. The current outbreak started in January in one yard before spreading to other places because control measures were perhaps not being taken seriously enoughâ.
More about strangles:
The name "strangles" was coined due to the strangled breathing sounds made by horses with enlarged lymph glands that are characteristic of the disease.
A horse that is exposed to Streptococcus equi will begin to show symptoms within two to six days and the characteristic abscessed lymph nodes will develop within one to two weeks after exposure. The lymph nodes rupture and drain and the drainage is highly contagious.
Symptoms
- Lack of appetite
- Fever
- Listlessness
- Swelling of lymph nodes in throat area
- Nasal discharge that turns thick and yellow
- Difficulty breathing
Causes
Strangles is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi that is specific to horses.
Prevention
Separating or quarantining a horse at the earliest signs of the disease is important because the disease is highly contagious and may be passed from one horse to another via nasal secretions and pus from ruptured abscesses in the lymph nodes. Horses remain contagious for approximately a month after having the disease.
Good horse management techniques are necessary to prevent the spread of the disease through contaminated water buckets, brushes, stalls, fences, or any other surface in the stable or pasture area. Bleach or other disinfectant should be used to wash down stalls including walls and floors, all equipment and tack, and any other surfaces that may have become contaminated by a horse with the disease. Fortunately, the bacteria die fairly quickly in the environment.
Treatment
Treatment of strangles depends on the general health of the horse and the severity and stage of the particular horse's case. Penicillin has been effective, but should be administered during the initial stages of the disease or after any abscesses have ruptured. Once abscesses form, penicillin has been reported to delay the opening and draining of the abscesses, which can lead to complications.
In mild cases, some veterinarians prefer to let the disease work its course because the disease is self-limiting and can be fought off by the immune system of most healthy horses without medication. Many veterinarians claim that antibiotics may do more harm than good by killing off beneficial bacteria the horse needs to fight the strangles infection.
The main complications that can occur include extreme swelling of lymph nodes to the point that airways are compressed and the horse's ability to breathe becomes restricted. In this case, a tracheotomy will be necessary to create an open airway. .
Another complication occurs when pus from the ruptured lymph nodes drains into the horse's lungs, causing a secondary infection of pneumonia. Treatment of the secondary infection becomes necessary and may include a round of antibiotics.
Always check with your veterinarian if you suspect your horse might be exposed to strangles or if you horse has symptoms of the disease.