How To Treat Gutteral Pouch With Strangles

When pus develops in the pouches the condition is known as guttural pouch empyema and often occurs following an infection of the pharynx.

How to treat gutteral pouch with strangles.

The fungus has an affinity for growing on the surface of the guttural pouch overlying the nerves and arteries. If a horse s retropharyngeal lymph nodes drain backwards into the guttural pouches the pus can sit there and sometimes create hard lumps called chondroids. Equi strangles bacteria in their guttural pouches i e. Guttural pouch mycosis is a fungal infection in the guttural pouch caused by a common fungi that most all horses carry.

I paid about 600 for strangles blood test which was just above acceptable then guttural pouch wash to get samples to run at vet hospital to see if carrier. Some veterinarians can submit samples from blind guttural pouch washes for testing but to rule out carrier status visualization of the pouches should be done along with pcr as per the recommendations of the acvim. After an outbreak of strangles on a yard the guttural pouches are two air filled sacs which open into the back of the horses throat. The most common disease of the guttural pouches is called guttural pouch empyema.

Strangles is tricky because about one in 10 otherwise fully recovered horses can become a carrier for the disease. In this disease the thin lining of the guttural pouch becomes inflamed and the guttural pouch becomes filled with thick pus. After a positive or inconclusive grey area pre movement strangles blood test. Streptococcus equi is the most common organism involved and the infection may follow a case of strangles.

This is why you see nasal discharge as a sign of strangles. It has been shown that 10 percent of horses affected in a strangles outbreak can have a failure of guttural pouch drainage and therefore be at risk of carrier status newton et al 1998 to confirm clearance guttural pouch washes can be started three weeks after resolution of clinical signs and one lavage that is pcr negative confirms clearance of disease. The fungus growing on nerves causes paralysis of affected nerve while the fungal plaques on the arteries will erode. These bacteria cause a large amount of mucus that contains white blood cells bacteria and necrotic.

Three negative consecutive guttural pouch washes should be done 7 days apart for a period of 21 days to confirm negative status. I could have waited and re run low bloods but clear result needed to move yards pre my surgery. This is caused by a bacterial infection usually secondary to strangles. The bacteria that causes strangles streptococcus equi is a major cause of infection in a horse s guttural pouch.