New Strangles Prevention and Treatment Guidelines Issued
Dr. Ashley Boyle (center) of Penn Vet took the lead in writing a new consensus statement on treating, controlling, and preventing the equine infectious disease strangles. | Photo: Courtesy Penn Vet
To assist veterinarians and owners in understanding the most up-to-date clinical recommendations when it comes to treating strangles, Ashley Boyle, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet), took the lead in writing a new consensus statement, issued by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, on treating, controlling, and preventing strangles in horses.

“From a practical standpoint, the consensus statement serves to advise all veterinarians on what we recommend as a way to treat and deal with the disease,” Boyle says.

“I’m an internist who sees this disease as a primary care doctor at the horse farms as well as a field researcher. The authors of the consensus statement are a collection of experts in the field of streptococcal diseases in horses including veterinary microbiologists, epidemiologists, and veterinarians who research this disease, as well as internists who encounter the disease frequently.”

Boyle coauthored the report with John Timoney, MVB, DSc, PhD, of the University of Kentucky Gluck Equine Research Center; Richard Newton, BVSc, MSc, PhD, FRCVS, and Andrew Waller, BSc, PhD, of Animal Health Trust, in Newmarket, U.K.; Melissa T. Hines, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, of the University of Tennessee; and Ben Buchanan, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, ACVECC, of Brazo Valley Equine Hospital, in Texas.

The last consensus statement was issued in 2005; the lead author of that report was Corinne Sweeney, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of medicine and associate dean at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center. Starting around 2012, Boyle began hearing from colleagues that it was time for an update, and Sweeney suggested she take on the project

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