Red Shore Racecourse quarantines 45 horses after strangles test

Charlottetown’s Red Shore Racecourse quarantined 45 horses after a positive PCR test for the bacteria that cause strangles —Streptococcus Equi..

However, according to a statement from the Red Shore, none of the 199 horses tested on-site were identified as having clinical signs of strangles.

Strangles is an upper respiratory tract disease that can cause swollen lymph nodes, runny nose, and fever in horses, donkeys, and mules. The disease can be fatal, but most animals survive.

It is highly contagious and can be easily spread by nose-to-nose contact between horses and even by human contact. If the handler obtains the bacteria from one horse on his hand, foot, or clothing, the handler can pass it on to another horse.

Treat like infectious

PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, is a sensitive test format that detects bacterial DNA. Streptococcus Equi.. (If it sounds familiar, it’s also the technique used to test the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans.)

“Basically, it means that we’re back with a positive PCR, which indicates that the horse has been exposed to streptococcus and can infect other horses,” said the horse racer. Director Brett Levington said. Atlantic Harness Racing Commission.

According to Levinton, the Strangles PCR test does not distinguish between live and dead bacterial DNA and cannot detect the presence of bacteria because the horse was recently vaccinated.

“Therefore, for this reason, a positive test does not necessarily indicate that the horse is clinically ill with strangles,” he said. “But that means that the horse must be treated as if it were contagious, affecting other horses until further sampling and testing confirms that the horse is negative. There is a possibility.”

Levinton said 45 of those horses and some others would be tested again. The test is currently underway.

The story continues

Meanwhile, he said that horses with a positive PCR test were isolated from the rest of the horse population.

“All 45 horses are divided into zones, sheds, horses that are generally positive on one end, stall in between, and horses that are negative on the other end,” Levinton said.

“They are monitored by the attending physician and the trainers and grooms who work in their barns.”

Get a “good handle”

Levinton said he wasn’t surprised that 45 of the 199 tests returned positive, given how the tests examined horse DNA.

“We were expecting a lot,” he said. “Horse has been exposed to strangles throughout his life and I wasn’t sure where he would fall, but I think that’s the number we expected to some extent.”

The Atlantic Commission, along with the Red Shore and PEI Harness Racing Commission, is supporting test payments.

“We want to broadly understand how much it was exposed and how many horses were exposed and instead of doing an isolated barn, we want to handle it well. The barn pops up. Maybe. “

“Rather, we want to get what we are dealing with as a whole.”

Levinton said everyone was watching carefully.

“We definitely want that number to go down. It’s really premature to comment on the race at this point as the race isn’t going back for another eight weeks.

“We are focusing on the current situation at hand. The priority is not only to clean this up as soon as possible, but more importantly, to clean it up as safely as possible.”

Levington also said Red Shores is responsible for setting up a biosecurity officer on the premises and implementing mandatory measures.

“This is a new thing for many and a stressful time for everyone, so appoint someone to that position, really answer the questions, and give them the peace of mind that everything is done as much as possible. I think I just do it. “”

Strangles vaccine

Meanwhile, a veterinarian at Atlantic Veterinary College said he and his colleagues have recently answered more questions about strangles.

J Trenton McClure specializes in large animal internal medicine and infectious disease management. He said there is one vaccine readily available in Canada. It is a modified live vaccine that is injected into the nose of animals.

Strangles vaccines have been shown to prevent and reduce the severity of horse disease. However, McClure said that if the animal was already exposed to the strangles, it would be dangerous to administer it.

“The concern is that if the horse is exposed (especially very recently) and already has a strong immune response, the following rare conditions occur: Purpura“McClure said.

“The body’s own immune system overreacts, which causes serious illness and swelling of the legs and fever. These are relatively rare, but when they do occur, it is because the horse already has a strong immune response. That’s the main concern. “

Horses that have never been vaccinated will need to be vaccinated twice, every 2-3 weeks, and prevention will begin 7-14 days after the second vaccination, according to McClure.

He should be vaccinated for at least one month before taking the horse to a high-risk location, such as a farm with a history of strangles, a racetrack, a horse show, or a breedmare farm. Is recommended.

McClure added that the vaccine is only approved for horses older than 9 months.

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