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SPORTS ZONE 2: Forty-Three Horses Quarantined

One horse has tested positive for a potentially deadly disease at the Trackside Training Center near Churchill Downs in Kentucky. Churchill Downs is the racetrack where one of the most famous horse races occurs every Spring: the Kentucky Derby.

After confirming that one horse had contracted a disease called strangles, 43 additional horses have been quarantined and are being tested. A quarantine is an order to separate or put into isolation someone or something that might carry a contagious disease. Veterinarians say strangles is extremely contagious, but not uncommon in Kentucky.

Strangles is a bacterial disease that begins with a fever and escalates to swelling of the horse's lymph nodes. If they swell too much, they may rupture. People have lymph nodes, too. They are located near your throat. Lymph nodes produce lymph fluid. That fluid carries white blood cells to fight infections in humans and horse bodies.

On May 7, Churchill Downs will host the Kentucky Derby. Race organizers are aware of the quarantine at Trackside, but say it isn’t a major issue

--Written by Sarah Kurachek

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