Study of prevalence of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi and Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus in horses of Golestan province of Iran

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESStreptococcus equi subspecies equi is the cause of strangles disease and is one of the most common and important infectious diseases of equidae. Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus is considered part of the flora of the respiratory tract of horses and causes respiratory disease. These two bacteria can also cause diseases in human beings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of the genome of SodA of Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus and SeM of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi in horses of Golestan province of Iran using PCR method.MATERIALS AND METHODSIn the present study, ۱۵۰ horses of Golestan province were randomly selected and nasal swab samples and epidemiological informations including age, gender and history of disease with a questionnaire were taken. The DNA of the samples was extracted and these bacteria were identified by PCR method and the effect of age, gender and history of disease of horses on the level of contamination was investigated using the Pearson’s Chi-square test.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONIn the present study, out of a total of ۱۵۰ examined horses, infection with Streptococcus equi subspecies equi and Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus was found in ۲۳ cases and ۵۴ cases of the horses, respectively. In this study, the rate of prevalence of both bacteria in horses with ۳-۱۴ years old were higher than others and In both bacteria, Mares had a higher prevalence rate than stallions and also the prevalence rate of both bacteria was higher in horses that had a history of disease.CONCLUSIONthis study showed that the prevalence of these bacteria in Golestan province is significant and requires appropriate programs and acts to control and prevent these diseases.

کلیدواژه ها:

Streptococcus equi ، Streptococcus zooepidemicus ، Horse ، Nasal swab ، PCR ، Iran