Strangles Awareness Week: a new approach to help owners prevent the spread

Few diseases rival Strangles for generating myth, misunderstanding and anxiety among equestrians. Despite our better understanding of how Streptococcus equi bacteria operates, along with significant recent developments in our ability to diagnose, treat and prevent Strangles, cases in the UK remain stubbornly high. This suggests that knowledge has not influenced the behaviour change that is needed at yard level, leaving Strangles unchallenged as the most commonly diagnosed equine infectious disease.

An overview of equine biosecurity practices by Crew et al (2023) noted that ‘…overall biosecurity on equestrian premises is suboptimal.’

This is also reflected in the laboratory findings from McGlennon et al (2021) which confirmed Strangles diagnoses in the UK quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 (Figure 1).

Currently, the most common time for people to improve their biosecurity is during and immediately after experiencing an outbreak (Figure 2). Client information events are likely to see good attendance when there are outbreaks in the area, as people are actively seeking information and are prepared to upgrade their biosecurity habits. However, evidence suggests this does not lead to the formation of sustainable habits on a scale that could cause a reduction in cases. Part of the reason for this is likely to be that in an outbreak situation, people are behaving reactively to an acute threat, rather than taking a proactive approach to the chronic risk that Strangles presents to all UK equines.