The AHT has secured an award of £580,000 from the Wellcome Trust to fund the development of a new diagnostic test for Strangles which takes only 30 minutes.

It's been achieved in part by 'Breaking the Strangles Hold' - a two-year fundraising campaign run by the Animal Health Trust (AHT) and The British Horse Society (BHS),

Money donated from the general public, along with funding from The Horse Trust, has already allowed scientists at the AHT to develop a diagnostic blood test which gives results in 24 hours. The blood test was launched in February 2008 and since then more than 6,700 samples have been tested.

HRH The Princess Royal, who launched the 'Breaking the Strangles Hold' campaign, said: "As an owner who has seen my own horse's affected by this terrible disease, it's wonderful to see such progress being made in a relatively short time.

"The screening test enables owners to know within 24 hours if any of their horses have been exposed to this bacterium. Previously available tests would have taken three to four days. The test is making a real difference in welfare and economic terms for all those involved in the equine industry. It truly is groundbreaking."

The success of this diagnostic work, along with other AHT research, has attracted further funding for the project from the Wellcome Trust in the form of a £580,000 Translation Award.

Professor Andrew Waller, Head of Bacteriology at the AHT, said: "The main problem with Strangles is the time taken to diagnose it. The current blood test is a big step forward, but the culture and DNA tests, which are often used in the initial stages of an outbreak can take a couple of days to get results."

The Translation Award means the AHT can reduce the time taken to perform its DNA diagnostic test and ultimately produce a point-of-care test that vets can use on site to get a diagnosis in 30 minutes. Earlier diagnosis will allow owners to isolate horses sooner and minimise the spread of infection. It will further reduce welfare problems for horses and the cost to their owners.

The AHT and Atlas Genetics will design and validate the point-of-care diagnostic test over the next two years. It is hoped that the test could be mass produced and widely available by 2012.

Professor Waller added: "This technology will be fantastic. It will be hugely beneficial for other diseases too, of both veterinary and clinical importance. Without the money raised through the 'Breaking the Strangles Hold' campaign, we wouldn't have made as much progress. On behalf of horses and horse owners worldwide, I'd like to thank everyone who has donated."

The 'Breaking the Strangles Hold' campaign reached its fundraising target of £250,000 in just two years, demonstrating how important to horse owners it is to get to grips with this terrible disease.

For more information, see: http://www.strangles.org

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