Strangles is a highly contagious upper respiratory bacterial infection in horses.
Route:The disease is contracted through environmental contamination, nasal discharge, or direct contact with infected animals.
Symptoms: high fever of 103 to 106 F, loss of appetite, a moist cough, clear nasal discharge that becomes yellow, difficulty in breathing and swallowing (as if strangling, hence the name), swelling of submandibular (under the jaw) lymph nodes that rupture.
Treatment:Isolation, antibiotic such as penicillin can be used before abcesses develop. Antibiotic treatment should be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Prevention: Quarantine of New Arrivals, Vaccination, On-Farm Biosecurity
