S. equi is the causative agent of strangles. | Image: UKVDL

This month’s featured map is Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi), the causative agent of the equine bacterial disease strangles.

This contagious upper respiratory disease causes inflamed lymph nodes in the upper airway and trachea. Clinical signs include nasal discharge from the abscessed lymph nodes draining externally or into the guttural pouches (blind-end sacs connected to the throat in horses).

As of June 18, the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UKVDL) has seen seven cases in June and saw 17 cases in May