Prevalence of Streptococcus equi subsp. equi in horses and associated risk factors in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

- S. equi in healthy horses is distributed across the whole state of Rio Grande do Sul.
- Associated factors for strangles are related with farm management practices.
- Associated factors identified in this study were: group events, sharing of food containers, and positive diagnosis of strangles on the farm.
- The results provide epidemiological contribution to strangles control.

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of equine strangles and to identify associated risk factors for this disease through a cross-sectional study of nasal swabs. Nasal swabs (n = 1010) from healthy equines (absence of nasal discharge, lymphadenopathy and cough) from 341 farms were plated on 5% blood agar; of these horses, 24 were identified as positive for Streptococcus equi through isolation, PCR and DNA sequencing. The estimated prevalence for individual animals was 2.3%, and for herds, it was 5.86%. Statistical analysis identified the following as associated risk factors: the number of group events that were attended by the equines (PR: 1.06); the sharing of food containers (PR: 3.74); and at least one previous positive diagnosis of strangles on the farm (PR: 3.20). These results constitute an epidemiological contribution to the horse industry and may support measures for the future control of the disease.