BHS delight at Vet School initiative to prevent the spread of Strangles
| BHS delight at Vet School initiative to prevent the spread of Strangles The British Horse Society has expressed its delight at the news that the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies is offering horse owners and yard managers in Scotland cost price tests to establish Strangles free status in an effort to control the spread of this horrendous disease. |  |
Professor Paddy Dixon said: "The Strangles Conference reinforced the message that careful biosecurity and adhering to STEPS (the Strategy to Eradicate and Prevent Strangles) are currently our best weapons in controlling this infection while we await the development of an effective Strangles vaccine.
"The BHS is aware that there are reports of horses being moved from infected yards to other yards, incredibly even during an active outbreak. Therefore we have decided that we should offer to carry out tests - endoscopy and lavage of the guttural pouches - to obtain samples for bacteriology and PCR examinations, at the Animal Health Trust (AHT), Newmarket, that establishes the infection status of any horse.
"These examinations will be performed for the cost of laboratory tests at the AHT (£28 plus VAT) and sedative drugs/disposables (£25 plus VAT).
"This initiative in combination with the endoscope donation from BHS Scotland will greatly facilitate the identification of carrier animals before they spread the bacterium further.
"The offer will stand for one year from now and we would of course have to have a referral from the owners' vet in order to carry out these investigations."
BHS Scotland chairman Loraine Young said: "This is a very generous offer and an excellent idea because it raises the profile of what is available in the struggle to eradicate Strangles in Scotland.
BHS Scotland members worked hard to purchase the endoscope with a view to establishing Strangles control. All horse owners should be grateful that a large animal hospital such as the Royal Dick is offering an affordable service that will help towards our aims."
Anyone interested in following up this offer should ask their own veterinary surgeon to contact the Large Animal Hospital of the "Dick Vet" on 0131 650 6253; fax 0131 650 8824 or email: lah@ed.ac.uk
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Added on: 10/07/08.
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