An attending veterinarians reported a case of strangles in Richland County, South Carolina, to the Equine Disease Communication Center.
The 15-year-old pony had onset of clinical signs on March 7 and was confirmed with strangles on May 2. The pony was unvaccinated.
The pony had been purchased from a large equine property in Yadkin County, North Carolina, on about April 13. The purchaser’s attending veterinarian saw the pony on April 22 for routing vaccinations and reported that the pony was bright, alert and responsive with no fever, lymph node enlargement or respiratory signs.
When the veterinarian was informed of the pony’s history of apparent respiratory infection (including nasal discharge) on the previous owner’s property in March of 2019, which was reported to have affected the majority of the horses at the pony’s farm of origin, the veterinarian tested the pony for strangles. Nine exposed horses on the pony’s current premises were treated with two injections of Excede and the positive pony was quarantined.
The exposed horses will be required to have three negative PCR tests one week apart before the quarantine will be lifted.
