Ridecamp: Re: [RC] carrier status and Strep. equi

Heidi,

I just went through a mild bout of Strangles with my
horse. Along the way I did some research into
Strangles and it's after affects on horses, including
carrier horses. What I learned was --


>>It would be interesting to know if these carriers
were a particular subtype or not.<<

1) (learned this from a research vet at U. Kenn.) The
carrier horses are 1 of 3 things. 1, their guttural
pouches never rupture for unknown reasons, and they
harbor mild infection in their guttural pouches for
unknown reasons. 2, they were fed Alfalfa Hay. For
some reason a very high protien forage, especially
alfalfa will make them retain the disease for longer
than a low protien forage. 3, they were on an
antibiotic that Strep Equi is sensitive to.

>>I also wonder how common this is.  <<

2) According to U. Kenn and a researcher from
Australia (if anybody's interested I can dig his web
site up) carrier horses are common. But, they don't
all carry for life. Average time for disease shedding
is something like 5.6 months, so that redefines
"carrier" here, because my vet says if they're
shedding after 8 weeks they're a carrier horse.

>>I also wonder how common this is.  I've dealt with
probably a few hundred strangles cases over the years,
and had never had it flare up due to exposure to a
recovered horse,nor had I ever heard of such a
thing.<<

I've dealt with one, but that made me want to make
sure I never deal with another!

Stephanie

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