Increase in strangles cases in Victorian horses

All suspected or confirmed cases of strangles must be reported to Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer within seven days.

Strangles is an infectious disease of horses, donkeys and mules caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi subsp. equi.

Outbreaks of strangles may occur when different groups of horses mix together (for example, at an equestrian event) or after the introduction of a new horse(s) onto a property.

It is usually more common in younger horses, but horses of any age can become infected.

July saw a significant increase in the number of cases of strangles reported to the department. There were eight cases from seven different properties (Figure 1).

Most of the cases were located in the south-east region of Victoria (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Location of strangles cases in Victoria between 1 May 2018 and 31 July 2018.
Alt: Map of Victoria showing the location of strangles cases.