The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is continuing to monitor an outbreak of strangles which began with a 3-year-old Thoroughbred filly at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Fayette County, Ky., according to an update posted to the Equine Disease Communication Center's website on Tuesday afternoon.
Last week, an epidemiologic investigation indicated the potential for strangles to reach a total of three facilities: the Thoroughbred Training Center, Keeneland Race Course, and Triple Diamonds Training Center on Russell Cave Road. One unnamed trainer housed horses at all three facilities.
Today's update indicates that the previously-imposed quarantine of a barn at Keeneland Race Course is now able to be released.
The full update from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is as follows:
“Premises 2: The fifteen (15) horses under the care of the two (2) individual trainers remaining in the barn at Keeneland were all sampled yesterday, March 24th. Results of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests have been released, with each animal found and reported to be negative.
“Based on the following facts:
- The population of horses stabled in this barn have all now tested negative on two separate occasions.
- Through investigation we identified no direct exposure to the horses under the care of the single trainer with positive horses on any of the three premises .
- Our earlier testing provided evidence that the disease-causing organism was not circulating in the Keeneland barn at time the horses under the care of the single trainer were moved offsite.
- The group of remaining horses have been under close health monitoring and scrutiny the past 8 days with no fevers or other signs of illness detected.
- Each individual horse was evaluated earlier today with no abnormal findings.
“The information and findings described above does provide us the evidence needed to confidently release the previously imposed quarantine barn at Keeneland this evening and allow the trainers in Barn seven (7) to resume their normal daily operations effective immediately. Horses residing in Barn seven (7) are no longer under regulatory restriction and will resume their normal training activity tomorrow morning at Keeneland. We will continue to closely monitor the health of these horses daily, requiring daily reports be made to Keeneland's Vice President of Equine Safety, Dr. Stuart Brown, and Rusty Ford, Equine Operations Consultant with the Department of Agriculture's Office State Veterinarian.
“Additional Information:
“Premises One (1): The population of horses residing in the affected barn at The Thoroughbred Center were all sampled yesterday with negative results returned. Following our protocol established for handling horses under the care of a single trainer, and identified as having potential direct exposure, these horses will be resampled a third time, with the test including examination and flushing of the guttural pouches. The horses under the care of the second trainer in this same barn will also be sampled a third time.
“Premises Three (3): The population of horses residing in the affected barn at Triple Diamonds Training Center (aka Three Diamonds) were collected earlier today, with results pending.
“Private Quarantine: All horses moved from the single trainer's affected barns on Premises one (1), two (2) and three (3), do remain under quarantine on a private facility. Prior to releasing these horses, each horse will be sampled on three separate occasions with all horses in the group reported negative. Testing of the horses under the care of the single trainer will include endoscopic examination and flushing of the guttural pouches.”
The upper respiratory disease commonly referred to as strangles is caused by Streptococcus equi subsp equi. Strangles is spread from horse to horse through direct contact. Horses can also contract the disease by coming into contact with contaminated surfaces. The disease is highly infectious.
For more information go to: https://www.equinediseasecc.org/strangles.
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