By Jerry Burke
After receiving the test results from Cornell University last week, the New York Racing Association's chief examining veterinarian, Dr. Celeste Kunz, said that Lady Libby was on the road to recovery. "Lady Libby had abscessed [lymph nodes] and had been treated with antibiotics, which made detection difficult," said Kunz. "She had actually gone downhill considerably after she was sent to Cornell, but she was doing much better today. It was determined that she had a condition that was serious to her, but it was definitely not strangles."
The results led to the relaxation of the quarantine on Barn 60 at Belmont Park, where Lady Libby had been stabled, and training will be permitted for those horses during regular hours.
According to www.horseadvice.com, strangles is a common upper-respiratory disease among horses caused by the bacteria Streptococcus equi. The disease may cause joint pain, loss of condition and, in a small percentage of cases, death.
Kunz said that quarantine was required, because strangles spreads quickly, primarily by way of droplets in the air, although contamination of food and water with the discharges from an infected horse can also be a factor. Unvaccinated horses coming into contact with infected animals at shows, sales and race tracks are obviously at risk. The disease does not affect humans.
The bacterial infection that Lady Libby had produced symptoms similar to the contagious illness, explained Kunz. Tests on Lady Libby revealed the presence of several types of bacteria, which could have caused strangles-like symptoms under the right circumstances.
"Every horse in Barn 60 was tested, and all came back negative for strangles," said Kunz. "But I took multiple tests, and until I get those results back, we still have to be careful."
The strangles scare caused Preakness winner and Belmont Stakes favorite Afleet Alex to arrive a week later than expected from the Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
Comments about this story? JBurke@liherald.com or (516)569-4000
