title: Getting a grip on strangles: recent progress towards improved diagnostics and vaccines.
abstract: 'Strangles', caused by infection with the bacterium Streptococcus equi, remains one of the most commonly diagnosed and important infectious diseases of horses world-wide. This review discusses the diagnosis and pathogenesis of strangles with particular attention to the significance of persistent infections in disease transmission and the rapid progress now being made towards the development of effective preventative vaccines. It is now possible combine recent sequence data from the N-terminal region of the SeM protein and reassign the SeM alleles using the on-line database http://pubmlst.org/szooepidemicus/seM/. Hypotheses concerning the origin of this variation and the potential for its exploitation for the epidemiological analysis of outbreaks are proposed. Advances in understanding of the molecular evolution of S. equi highlight the role played by phage-mediated acquisition of virulence factors and suggest new avenues for prophylactic intervention.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Preventive Medicine, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7UU, UK. andrew.waller@aht.org.uk
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Jolley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006736:Horses; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D022541:Streptococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D018502:Streptococcus equi / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C107891:SeM protein, Streptococcus equi; D022541:Streptococcal Vaccines