Open AccessGlobetrotting strangles: the unbridled national and international transmission of Streptococcus equi between horses
Author(s) -
Catriona Mitchell,
Karen F. Steward,
Amelia R. L. Charbonneau,
Saoirse Walsh,
Hayley Wilson,
John F. Timoney,
U. Wernery,
Marina Joseph,
David Craig,
Kees van Maanen,
Annelies Hoogkamer-van Gennep,
Albertine Léon,
Lucjan Witkowski,
Magdalena Rzewuska,
Ilona Stefańska,
Monika Żychska,
Gunther van Loon,
Raymond T. Cursons,
Olivia Anne Patty,
Els Acke,
James Gilkerson,
Charles ElHage,
Joanne L. Allen,
Hiroshi Bannai,
Yuta Kinoshita,
Hidekazu Niwa,
Teótimo Becú,
John Pringle,
Bengt Guss,
Reinhard Böse,
Y. Abbott,
Lisa Katz,
Bernadette Leggett,
Tom Buckley,
Shlomo E. Blum,
Fátima Cruz López,
Ana Fernández Ros,
Maria Cristina Marotti Campi,
Silvia Preziuso,
Carl Robinson,
J. R. Newton,
Ellen Schofield,
Ben T Brooke,
Mike Boursnell,
Nicolas de Brauwere,
Roxane Kirton,
Charlie Barton,
Khalil Abudahab,
Ben Taylor,
Corin Yeats,
Richard Goater,
David M. Aanensen,
Simon R. Harris,
Julian Parkhill,
Matthew T. G. Holden,
Andrew S. Waller
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
microbial genomics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.476
H-Index - 28
ISSN - 2057-5858
DOI - 10.1099/mgen.0.000528
Subject(s) - streptococcus equi , disease , multilocus sequence typing , subspecies , transmission (telecommunications) , biology , genome , whole genome sequencing , virology , veterinary medicine , medicine , genotype , genetics , zoology , pathology , gene , electrical engineering , engineering , bacteria
The equine disease strangles, which is characterized by the formation of abscesses in the lymph nodes of the head and neck, is one of the most frequently diagnosed infectious diseases of horses around the world. The causal agent, Streptococcus equi subspecies equi , establishes a persistent infection in approximately 10 % of animals that recover from the acute disease. Such 'carrier' animals appear healthy and are rarely identified during routine veterinary examinations pre-purchase or transit, but can transmit S. equi to naïve animals initiating new episodes of disease. Here, we report the analysis and visualization of phylogenomic and epidemiological data for 670 isolates of S. equi recovered from 19 different countries using a new core-genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) web bioresource. Genetic relationships among all 670 S. equi isolates were determined at high resolution, revealing national and international transmission events that drive this endemic disease in horse populations throughout the world. Our data argue for the recognition of the international importance of strangles by the Office International des Épizooties to highlight the health, welfare and economic cost of this disease. The Pathogenwatch cgMLST web bioresource described herein is available for tailored genomic analysis of populations of S. equi and its close relative S. equi subspecies zooepidemicus that are recovered from horses and other animals, including humans, throughout the world. This article contains data hosted by Microreact.