is strangles in horses an airborn disease?

Question

if a horse has strangles, can other horses catch it by being near them, not actually touching them , (the same way as a human getting the flu i suppose), is it an airborn disease

Answer 1

It's the equivalent to mumps in humans so yes, horse should be kept in quarantine away from the others if they have strangles.

Answer 2

Strangles can be spread by direct or indirect contact it spreads easily and very fast. The last case of strangles i came into contact with the horses were quarantened from the 1st symptoms, and we called the vet and went through the procedure of antibiotics then we turned the horses away for 3 months as strangles seems to come out in the summer months. This field was no where near the other horses and was not used for another 2 months after this. The bedding was burned the stable then was disinfected with all the tools grooming kits any thing that had been near the horses, the groom only had contact with those 2 horses until they were turned away then which is not what you have to do but always wash and wear something like overalls when dealing with strangles and if you need to go to others horses make sure you wash and change clothes.

Answer 3

Yes strangles is an airborne disease. Other horses can catch it without going near the infected horse, although that does depend on where the horses are, type of stabling, management routine etc. all horses with strangles should be treated by a vet and should be quarantined. Also ask your vet about the vaccination. If there are lots of horses on your yard, it may be worth getting a group of you together and ask the vet to come and vaccinate all horses at once.
Hope this helps!

Answer 4

In terms of human disease, strangles is like a bad case of strep throat," says Dr. Thomas Goetz, veterinarian in equine medicine and surgery at the University of Illinois Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital in Urbana. "In horses it's a highly contagious streptococcal infection. The infected horse has a fever and appears not to feel well. Eventually discharge may come from the horse's nose, and its lymph nodes may swell."

Because strangles is highly infective, risk of an outbreak is always present, especially with young horses. The disease may be spread when puss from the nose or burst abscesses gets on water troughs, feed buckets, brushes, driving lines, other equipment, or you.

In the event of an outbreak, Dr. Goetz prefers treatment options 1 and 2, but has resorted to antibiotics. "In a large outbreak you could separate the less severe cases and treat them with the first two options, or you could bite the bullet and treat them all. Quite a few years back a 30-pony farm had an outbreak of strangles. At first I worried we'd be treating them for 2 to 3 months. We decided to use antibiotics and in 3 weeks it was over and done with. Herd treatment, considering your manpower and financial resources, may be the best way to contain the infection and end the disease without having all your horses go through the breakage and drainage of lymph nodes and having the disease perhaps linger for several months."

Most horses are not infectious 30 days after the disease has run its course, but some horses may continue to be infective up to 6 months later. If you are concerned about whether a horse is still shedding the bacteria, ask a veterinarian to culture the horse's guttural pouch.

Cleaning the environment is difficult. Wash everything with soap and a 3:1 mixture of water and bleach. Control pests that spread disease, including flies, rats, and mice

Answer 5

Starngles is an air born disease it can also be carried by any other animal or human and passed onto other horses and is a very contagious disease so any horse that has contracted strangles should be put in isolation

Answer 6

yes it is air born i am so sorry if you have a horse with strangles my horse had it about 8 months ago and we are still paying on the 3,000 dollar vet bill. A man named rusty evans had a herd of horses that he was selling and all of them had strangles and of course they got over it ok but the one i bought gave it to my 6,000 buckskin any way the man was a con artist and several of my friends are in a lawsuit with him but he is no where to be found. anyway but with time and the right care your horse will be back to normal my baby is and he had it bad.,

Answer 7

Yes, it is a very contagious disease and any horse that has it should be quarantined until cured. You should also have the vet out for various treatments. Here's a website that clarifies it a little.

http://www.cyberhorse.net.au/csl/strangles.htm

I hope this helps!

Answer 8

yes- it spreads very quickly throughout a barn.

In most cases, it is easily treatable with medicine.
You can vaccinate, but they really aren't that effective.The IM one is only about 7% effective, and the internasal one is only about 20% or less.

Answer 9

I think its spread through contact, indirect or direct.

This website has some really good and interesting info about it.

http://www.equine-strangles.co.uk/

Answer 10

yes is it. its very contagious, it is passed on by direct contact or airborn.