# Strangles vaccine,side effects???



## jojo.1986 (30 July 2011)

&#8203; I had my two horses vaccinated&#8203; against strangles over a week ago...they&#8203; both came out with a swollen upper lip, this is normal as the jab goes in their top lip...howe&#8203;ver Harry is ok now but My other boy is still swollen and a sore has appeared inside the nostril...&#8203;he is perfectly fine in himself,st&#8203;ill eating,tem&#8203;perature spot on,vet said he has had a general reaction and with bute and anti bacterial cream it will eventually&#8203; clear up...just wanted to know if anyone else has experience anything similar?


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## Miss L Toe (31 July 2011)

I suggest you ask Shering-Plough, for details of research papers.


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## smellsofhorse (31 July 2011)

I heard there was a vaccine for strangles but when I asked at my vets they said there wasn't!
I will ask again!
Sorry no help to you, maybe speak.to.your vets for advice.


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## Cuffey (31 July 2011)

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/horse-care-index/1370/299023.html

Dont think I would entertain putting my gang through it, Cuffey particularly not a vet lover and the location of this jab would only make him worse. 
 Had him fooled recently for his annual vaccs with vet lady who enters stable apple in hand!!


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## jojo.1986 (31 July 2011)

If I could go back a week and make the decision whether to vaccinate them both or not I would definetly NOT have it done. Don't get me wrong, a few others on the yard got it done and had no issues, but the risk of quite  nasty side effects I feel aren't  worth it. For it to be completely effective they have to have it every four months.(so every four months my boy has to go through 2 weeks of uncomfortableness?!) no way. I have heard that treating strangles itself is easier than what side effect is possible to occur. My vets haven't made me feel too confident either...one vet gave the jab, and when I called the emergency vet asking advice on my boy coming out in a nasty pussy sore (btw same practice) she replied 'oh I didn't even know we were doing this again' !!!! Sorry I have ranted on, but not only worried out my little man but to be Frank pissed off with the vagueness of my vet's advice. If you are thinking of getting this jab done I'd wait until it's been on the Market longer than a couple of months...I wish I had.


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## rambling (31 July 2011)

The vaccine was withdrawn a few years ago when some show ponies contracted Strangles from it . I think the owners brought a case, I suppose it must have been settled as its on the go again. There was a  thread about it . I will try to find the it.

The BHS were running a very strong campaign to have people vaccinate their horses and some of the vets were pushing it.

I think the pharma companies are really pushing it , worming must be a bit slow


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## Olliecp77 (1 August 2011)

My boys got it and yes the typical swollen lip but a week later one boy was acting like his jaw was badly damaged and went mental when bridle put on - lower jaw pain and dropping mouth completely open, I felt his nostrils were hard and sore to touch- reason I was checking is a pair of scissors had gone missing that morning so we were concerned he may have chomped the scissors   Spoke to vet and yes a bad reaction - same as yourself I wonder of benefit of being sore every 3 months (my vet recommendation).  I really wanted the vac asap as had previously been covered and protected horse in an infected yard really well until we could move.


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## rambling (1 August 2011)

This is a copy and paste from www.bellequineveterinary.

Sorry I can't isolate just this from their website.

" For a long time the UK horse industry has been asking for a vaccine to help control strangles. After more than a decade of research,the UK's first strangles vaccine was launched in 2005. Unfortunately there have been concerns regarding its use and it has currently been taken off the market
The best advice has to be to talk to BELL EQUINE for guidance relating to your individual situation. "


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## GingerCat (1 August 2011)

Not had mine vaccinated with the 'new' vaccine as two of mine had reactions to the previous one.

Out of 11 horses vaccinated on the same day on our yard, 6 came down with colic and my Sec A and my friend's sec D also went into shock..all with a few hours of having the vaccine.
They all recovered but I don't feel that it's worth the risk.

Another 'side effect' of the vaccine (although not a clinical one) is that my previously 'fine to worm' sec A, fought like a demon every time we put a worming syringe near his mouth after having the jab in the inside of his top lip


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## Miss L Toe (1 August 2011)

jojo.1986 said:



			If I could go back a week and make the decision whether to vaccinate them both or not I would definetly NOT have it done. Don't get me wrong, a few others on the yard got it done and had no issues, but the risk of quite  nasty side effects I feel aren't  worth it. For it to be completely effective they have to have it every four months.(so every four months my boy has to go through 2 weeks of uncomfortableness?!) no way.

 I have heard that treating strangles itself is easier than what side effect is possible to occur. My vets haven't made me feel too confident either...one vet gave the jab, and when I called the emergency vet asking advice on my boy coming out in a nasty pussy sore (btw same practice) she replied 'oh I didn't even know we were doing this again' !!!! Sorry I have ranted on, but not only worried out my little man but to be Frank pissed off with the vagueness of my vet's advice. If you are thinking of getting this jab done I'd wait until it's been on the Market longer than a couple of months...I wish I had.
		
Click to expand...

Well, if your horse is at risk, it might be worthwhile, not all horses shrug the disease off, it cost me a lot of money, six months off for the horse, and six weeks of hell, so it is not always a disease to be dismissed as a minor difficulty. there is no "treatment" as such, people would be shocked if they knew what my poor horse had to suffer.


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## Box_Of_Frogs (1 August 2011)

Before I joined my current yard, all the liveries there were part of a trial of the strangles vaccine. Not as a freebie I would add! As other have said, it was then withdrawn and they've been working on a new one but no idea what your horses have had. The most enormous side effect that the old strangles vaccine had on my yard was that it didn't do a goddamn thing!!!!


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## rambling (2 August 2011)

GingerCat said:



			Not had mine vaccinated with the 'new' vaccine as two of mine had reactions to the previous one.

Out of 11 horses vaccinated on the same day on our yard, 6 came down with colic and my Sec A and my friend's sec D also went into shock..all with a few hours of having the vaccine.
They all recovered but I don't feel that it's worth the risk.

Another 'side effect' of the vaccine (although not a clinical one) is that my previously 'fine to worm' sec A, fought like a demon every time we put a worming syringe near his mouth after having the jab in the inside of his top lip 

Click to expand...

OMG they are seriously bad figures as well as being a lot of trauma for horses and owners. Did the vet report it to the manufacturer ?


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## jojo.1986 (2 August 2011)

Just as an update... Both mine are ok now...swelling completely gone and the 'sore' has nearly scabbed over...I don't know too much about the 'new' 'treated' vaccine, but what I do know is it made both my boys very uncomfortable for about 14 days, and i now have a battle to get them to trust me fully again (become quite head shy) ;( If I go through with the 2nd vaccine it's in 2 weeks time...to what go through this all again? Obviously everyone has their own views...what I do know is in the 25 years I have kept horses I have known of very few cases of strangles. I am in no way writing off the fact that it is a horrid and sometimes fatal disease, but what I do know is, the first vaccine got taken off the market for a reason and my Boys aren't going to be Guiney pigs for this one. I tried it and I don't know enough about it to have it again..on that note neither does my vetenary practice...


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## Miss L Toe (3 August 2011)

The previous vaccine was taken off UK market because it no longer gave the protection required, the new one should give better protection but there is little doubt that it is really only for horses at higher than average [and ongoing] risk


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## Maesfen (3 August 2011)

This year I seriously tossed up whether to take my mare to the Twemlows for covering but one of the things that did put me off was them wanting mares to be strangles vaccinated.  After speaking to my vet (hope he's up to date as he's at Leahurst!) and he said he wouldn't put his own horse through it,  I decided no way was I putting my mare through all that discomfort for no reason at all when it's not even efficient.  It just seems a money making exercise for both company and vets because it's not cheap at all either.
I'm actually quite shocked at OP's vets for not having researched it thoroughly enough before using it.


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