# strep C in humans is strangles, can my horses get sick?



## munschk (Mar 11, 2008)

As far as I was aware, strangle is caused by Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus and Streptococcus equi equi and is non-contagious to humans. I don't know if Strep C in humans is caused by the exact same organism?
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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

I'm at work right now so I can't paste the article I read but it said strep c is uncommon in humans and it is most often seen in horses and known as strangles. I don't know if that means its contagious from one to the other or not but I'm still worried
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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

It sounds likely that your brother caught it from the dogs at the boarding kennel and they don't have kennel cough. Even though vaccines are not 100% effective, it's unlikely that you would have so many of them catching kennel cough if they are all vaccinated, so I would suspect something else.

I wouldn't be too worried about your horses catching it from a short contact with your brother (or you) unless one of you spends a lot of time with both the dogs and with the horses. It's possible, but unlikely.


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## Rachel1786 (Nov 14, 2010)

verona1016 said:


> It sounds likely that your brother caught it from the dogs at the boarding kennel and they don't have kennel cough. Even though vaccines are not 100% effective, it's unlikely that you would have so many of them catching kennel cough if they are all vaccinated, so I would suspect something else.
> 
> I wouldn't be too worried about your horses catching it from a short contact with your brother (or you) unless one of you spends a lot of time with both the dogs and with the horses. It's possible, but unlikely.


I totally just forgot what I was going to say because we just had a freaking earthquake! It was very small, I thought it was my cat messing with my chair lol I'll come back once I remember what I was going to say....I'm in NE PA, we don't have earthquakes here!


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## Horse Poor (Aug 20, 2008)

I don't think what causes kennel cough has anything to do with S. equi. I had always thought that cross species transfer couldn't occur with S. Equi, but out of curiosity I did some searching and, to my surprise, found that it can…and not all cases can be traced back to an animal as the cause of infection.

References: 
Group C/G strep - The Lee Spark Necrotising Fasciitis (NF) Foundation

Excerpt:
"Despite the link to animals, few people with invasive group C or G streptococcal illness have any history of contact with farm animals or horses. The vast majority of group C and G disease is picked up in the community - they are not normally considered to be ‘hospital infections’, even in patients following surgery."

"Horse strep" in people : Worms and Germs Blog

Excerpt:
"Streptococcus is a group of bacteria that includes many different species. There are two main species in horses Streptococcus equi subsp. equi*(aka S. equi, the cause of strangles) and Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (aka S. zooepidemicus, a cause of various types of infections). As you can guess by the 'equi' name, their natural host is the horse. Strep infections are very common in people, but rarely involve these two species. Nonetheless, infections with either Streptococcus equi or S. zooepidemicus can be found in people, but S. zooepidemicus is most common. Usually, these infections develop in people who are already sick for another reason, have compromised immune systems, or in young children. Interestingly, not everyone that is infected reports direct or even indirect contact with horses."


And, from the book Equine Infectious Diseases by Deba C.Sellon, Maureen T. Long, pg 256 under subhead "Public Health Concerns" last sentence reads:
"S. Equi is highly host adapted, however, and infections of humans have rarely been confirmed."

LA County Department of Public Health-Veterinary Public Health - Equine Strangles
Excerpt:
Transmission to Humans. In rare cases, humans have contracted infections from the bacteria that cause Strangles.* To prevent human infection, people caring for horses with Strangles should avoid getting any nasal or abscess discharge from the horse on their eyes, nose, or mouth.* The should also wear disposable gloves while working with the horse, avoid touching their face, and should wash their hands thoroughly when finished.*"
and….
"Human infections with Strangles, although not common, do occur."

Links to scientific articles on human cases  2003 - Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (Lancefield group C) meningitis in a child 2006 - Post streptococcal acute glomerulonephritis secondary to sporadic Streptococcus equi infection 2004 - Primary purulent pericarditis due to group C Streptococcus (These links are located at the bottom of the publichealth site above)


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## munschk (Mar 11, 2008)

I also read those articles but couldn't find any articles about transfer from people to horses...

Did you find any?
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## Horse Poor (Aug 20, 2008)

No, I didn't - only that people were carriers to horses by environmental exposure….people visiting infected farms exposing it to other farms via contact on boots, clothes, gloves, etc. but nothing about an infected person infecting a horse.


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