The following recommendations are made by Blue Water Equine Hospital, Emmett, Michigan, by the office of the state veterinarian at the Michigan Department of Agriculture, and by Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, regarding horses exposed to Streptococcus equi (Strangles), a highly contagious upper respiratory tract infection characterized by high fever, large amounts of purulent nasal discharge, and enlarged lymph nodes.
Horses that have been exposed to the disease (i.e. in close contact with an infected horse) can carry the disease without showing clinical signs for at least 6-8 weeks. These horses can be a source of infection to others and should not be moved from the barn at which they are housed until they either A) have had 3 nasal/pharyngeal cultures negative for S. equi taken 1-2 days apart or B) have shown no signs of disease for a minimum of 4 weeks following the last known exposure. This includes horses stabled at the same barn as an infected horse.
Infected horses should be kept away from uninfected horses, and care should be taken to wash hands, change clothes and shoes, and clean pitchforks, brooms, etc. after handling infected horses. Make an attempt to handle infected horses after all other horses in the barn.
Barns that have housed an infected horse should be thoroughly cleaned. All fecal material from the affected animal should be removed and the area cleaned with a phenol compound or Chlorhexidine solution. Particular attention should be addressed to water buckets/troughs and stall bars.
Please do not hesitate to call our office if you have any further questions regarding strangles.