Good biosecurity is vital for limiting the spread of contagious
diseases like strangles. Caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi),
strangles spreads readily from horse to horse and by indirect transmission on items
such as clothes, tack, and buckets.
Stopping an outbreak requires affected horses to be isolated to prevent
spread to
susceptible animals. Measures are also needed to prevent indirect
transmission, such as using
separate equipment and clothing for handling affected and unaffected
horses, and disinfecting anything that comes in contact with an infected animal.
One possible source of indirect transmission, which may prove more
difficult to do anything about, was highlighted by recent research.
Dr Nic Pusterla, professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology,
at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, was lead
author of a short communication published in the journal Medical and Veterinary
Entomology.
The study set out to see if S. equi could be found in face flies on a farm
with a confirmed outbreak of strangles.
The researchers collected 1856 face flies (Musca autumnalis) using
conventional fly traps. The flies were tested using quantitative polymerase
chain reaction (qPCR), looking for evidence of S equi. Of the total flies
caught, ten (=0.54%) tested qPCR positive for S. equi.
The authors conclude: “The results may implicate the
presence of face flies as a risk factor for the transmission of S. equi and
highlight the need to institute proper husbandry measures, biosecurity
protocols and fly control in order to reduce the potential for infection in
at-risk horses.”
For more details:
Molecular detection of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi in face flies
(Musca autumnalis) collected during a strangles outbreak on a Thoroughbred
farm.
Pusterla N, Bowers J, Barnum S, Hall JA.
Med Vet Entomol. (2019)
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