A more effective vaccine against equine strangles is now being launched
The vaccine is based on many years of research at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Karolinska Institutet.
Intervacc's new Swedish equine strangles vaccine Strangvac is now available. Equine strangles is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi, and is closely related to the bacterium that causes strep throat in humans. The disease is the commonest infectious equine disease, affecting horses all over the world – the only exception being Iceland, where importation of horses is prohibited.
The infectious bacterium Streptococcus equi invades the lymph nodes on the horse's head and neck, causing them to swell and form abscesses. In about two per cent of cases the abscesses can become so extensive that they literally strangle the horse. Some horses that recover from this serious illness, however, remain hidden carriers of infection. The hidden carriers of infection are perceived by their environment as being completely healthy animals, but they spread the bacterium to their local environment and other horses they come into contact with.
70-100 strangles outbreaks are reported in Sweden every year. A number of horses can suffer with each outbreak, bringing major financial consequences for the facility as a result of quarantine, transport bans, stopped operations etc. The bacterium is very troublesome, and can persist for many weeks after a horse has become free of symptoms.
The research behind the vaccine goes back 20 years, and has been carried out at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Karolinska Institutet.
