title: Streptococcus equi subspecies equi in horses in Israel: seroprevalence and strain types.
abstract: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the seroprevalence of Streptococcus equi in Israel, to monitor seropositive horses over time and to identify archived strains that were recovered from Israeli horses. A serological survey of 200 healthy horses on 20 farms throughout Israel was performed to detect recent exposure to S equi antigens A and C via indirect ELISA. Seroprevalence was 9.5 per cent (19/200) and positive horses were found in 30 per cent (6/20) of the farms. Sixteen horses that returned a positive serology result were retested three and six months later. Most (12/16) positive horses remained positive, which suggests the presence of animals with persistent infection. Molecular characterisation of S equi strains by sequencing of the SeM gene of 16 archived isolates of S equi that were recovered from clinical cases of strangles between 2008 and 2012 identified two strains: SeM-2 and SeM-28.
authors.affiliation: Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Rehovot , Israel.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tirosh-Levy
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology , Kimron Veterinary Institute , Bet Dagan , Israel.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Blum
authors.affiliation: Centre for Preventive Medicine, Animal Health Trust , Newmarket, Suffolk , UK.
authors.forename: K F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Steward
authors.affiliation: Centre for Preventive Medicine, Animal Health Trust , Newmarket, Suffolk , UK.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.affiliation: Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Rehovot , Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steinman
keywords: Horse; Serology; Streptococcus equi