MARYLAND - The Maryland Department of Agriculture confirmed multiple cases of strangles disease in horses in the state.
According to the State Veterinarian, Dr. Jennifer Trout, quarantine measures have been implemented after horses in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Montgomery counties tested positive for the highly contagious upper respiratory infection.
No cases have been reported on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
"Your best defense is a really good offense and that really is biosecurity," Dr. Trout said.
Biosecurity measures include isolating any new animals for a minimum of 14 days, prioritizing cleanliness and limiting contact with outside animals or people.
Jessica Flores is the co-owner of Rusted Star Ranch in Worcester County and the general manager of the Mill at Salisbury. She encourages feed customers concerned about strangles to assign color-coded feed buckets to individual horses.
"Making sure you're scrubbing out your water troughs, you're disinfecting them, keeping things clean and sanitized," Flores said.
The severity of the infection and treatment vary from horse to horse, but many symptoms mirror a bad human head cold.
"Animals get a nasal discharge ... a fever for sure," Dr. Trout said. "They don't like to eat and then you can get swelling of the lymph nodes around the head."
A preventative vaccine is available for strangles, but Dr. Trout said there is some debate about its efficacy.
"Like with any vaccine, it's kind of like having car insurance, just because you have car insurance, it doesn't prevent you from having an accident," she said.
More information on strangles disease, clinic signs, treatment and biosecurity measures can be found here.