Second Strangles Case at The Thoroughbred Center

An epidemiologic investigation continues after a Thoroughbred racehorse became sick with strangles at The Thoroughbred Center near Lexington, Ky., the Kentucky Department of Agriculture posted April 20 on the Equine Disease Communication Center website.

Strangles is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the equine upper respiratory tract that can be spread by horse-to-horse contact or by humans, tack, buckets, and other environmental factors.

Symptoms can include fever, nasal discharge, cough, and swollen lymph nodes. Some horses only show mild symptoms, but can still prove contagious.

Full recovery of uncomplicated cases of strangles is favorable. A Kentucky Agriculture official said April 19 that the horse that was initially found to be sick was recovering.

The Thoroughbred Center is a popular training facility in Central Kentucky owned by Keeneland. Horses stabled at The Thoroughbred Center regularly are vanned to racetracks in the surrounding area to compete.

Following standard protocol for a contagious disease, the barn in which the horse resided at The Thoroughbred Center was quarantined and the other horses in the barn were tested. 

The Equine Disease Communication Center noted that one unidentified trainer in the quarantined barn at The Thoroughbred Center has horses in three separate locations in Central Kentucky, and the center reported the following update:

Premises 1: All horses (19 under the care of two trainers) in the affected barn at The Thoroughbred Center were sampled and PCR testing identified one additional positive horse that was stabled next to the index case. Both positive horses have been removed from The Thoroughbred Center and remain isolated at a separate facility. Ten horses under the care of the second trainer were all found negative. Horses in this affected barn will remain under quarantine and are being monitored daily for any signs of illness. The horses are bright, alert, responsive, and remain healthy. The group of horses will be resampled next week.

Premises 2: The same trainer had 19 horses stabled in a barn at Keeneland. These horses were each examined yesterday morning and samples collected. Following the samples being collected, the horses were moved offsite to a private isolation where they remain under quarantine and daily monitoring. PCR testing on this group of horses identified one asymptomatic horse as having a low level of S. equi DNA. Testing of the horses under the care of the other two trainers were reported to be PCR-negative. These horses do remain under quarantine, are being monitored daily, and will be resampled next week. All horses continue to be bright, alert, responsive, and remain healthy.

Premises 3: The same trainer has eight horses in a single barn on a private training facility in Fayette County. An additional trainer has nineteen (19) horses stabled in this barn. These 27 horses were examined yesterday at the time of sampling. Nasal pharyngeal washes were collected from each horse late yesterday and submitted for PCR testing. Results from this testing will be reported later today.

As described above, we have tested multiple horses under the care of several trainers at each of the above premises and have found no evidence of the disease-causing organism beyond those horses under the care of the single trainer. The extensive monitoring continues and with the cooperation of our trainers, attending veterinarians, and horsemen we remain confident in receiving horses from The Thoroughbred Center to enter and race at Keeneland. Horses originating from TTC are being examined by their veterinarian the morning of shipping and are accompanied with a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection stating the animals present no evidence of illness.