Thanks for the information. I have no direct contact with the
infected horses, so that type of exposure won't be a problem.
Glad to hear that Naseyn and I can merrily go on our way!
Colleen
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> My question: a neighbor's herd of horses has contracted Strangles,
>which I believe is a highly contagious disease spread easily among
>equines. How close does contact need to be for a healthy animal to
>be exposed?
>How "air born" is the virus (if it is a virus)
Contact with the horse or with nasal discharrge or pus from the abscesses.
Can be carried on your boots, clothing, hands, etc., but not airborne for
long distances. More like airborne from a sneeze.
It is a bacterial infection--Strptococcus equi.
> Also, is there any vaccine to prevent Strangles?
There are several. Efficacy is only moderate; local reactions, sometimes
fairly severe, are not uncommon.
>
>Thanks in advance for all your advice.
>
--CMNewell, DVM
PS You *could* have asked this on rec.eq. I have answered this before there.
we don't all bite, you know. (And once you get used to the subculture, you
might realize that the insults being hurled are frequently tongue-in-cheek.)
"The expression in a horse's eye is like a blessing on a good man's house."
--Sayied iben-el Rabil, quoting the Prophet