How will a veterinarian know if a horse has strangles?
A veterinarian generally will diagnose a case of strangles based on the classical clinical signs. The gold standard to confirm the infection is a bacteriologic culture from either nasal swabs or pus from the abscesses. Another test is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which detects the DNA of S. equi. While this test is excellent, it does not distinguish between dead and live organisms and therefore should not be used alone to make a diagnosis of strangles. What should be done if there is a strangles outbreak? Proper management by the horse owner or the farm manager is the key to the successful control of an outbreak of strangles. Working with a veterinarian, the owner or farm manager can identify affected groups of horses, look at the geography of the premises and review management practices to develop a practical disease-control strategy. Several specific aims of the plan should include: 1. Preventing the spread of S. equi infection to horses on other premises and to new arrivals on
