Strangles is a contagious bacterial disease of equines and is prevalent worldwide. Host-restricted Streptococcus equi subspecies equi is the etiology. In April 2019, strangles was diagnosed in a donkey in the quarantine area of an intensive donkey farm. The infection was confirmed by clinical signs, bacterial isolation, histochemistry, PCR and sequencing. Based on the M-protein typing method, analysis of SeM sequencing data indicated that the isolated S. equi strain CN190402 belongs to a novel genotype SeM-138. The present study increases knowledge of the molecular epidemiology of S. equi and will lead to a greater understanding of the diversity of this pathogen. Meanwhile, it emphasized the necessity of quarantine areas and the importance of biosecurity for intensive donkey farms to prevent future outbreaks.

To Cite This Article: Liu Y, Gao N, He D, Waller A, Gu J, Wang T, Ji Y, Fan S, Yuan D, Du Y, Li F, Zhu W, Dong J and Han W, 2019. Identification of a novel genotype of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi in a donkey suffering from strangles. Pak Vet J, 39(4): 609-611. http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2019.087