Strangles, caused by the bacteria Streptococcus equi, is a highly contagious upper respiratory disease. | Photo: The Horse Staff

Kathleen MacMillan, DVM, MSc, an assistant professor at the University of Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC), in Charlottetown, will lead a community workshop about strangles on July 11 at 7 p.m. in the AVC’s Lecture Theatre.

Strangles, caused by the bacteria Streptococcus equi, is a highly contagious upper respiratory disease. It also has several potentially fatal complications and the capability to cause persistent infections in populations of asymptomatic carrier horses.
MacMillan will describe about strangles’ clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as ways to reduce the risk of infection.

Recently veterinarians confirmed several cases of strangles in horses in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and University of Prince Edward Island. The bacteria that causes the illness is easily transmitted by nose-to-nose contact between horses or from objects that come in contact with nasal discharge from a sick horse, such as clothing, hands, or equipment