Strangles was widely reported from Ireland, Japan, Norway, Switzerland and in the United Kingdom among animals that passed through the December sales in Newmarket. A major outbreak involving several hundred Thoroughbred yearlings and mares on a single farm in Western Province, South Africa was diagnosed during October. West Nile Virus Encephalopathy was confirmed among horses for the first time in Tuscany, Italy during September involving several premises with some mortality. Within the cecum, the parasites usually surround the ileocecal valve. Having no mouth parts or digestive tract, they absorb nutrients through their cuticle.
Tapeworms are a member of the group of parasites called flatworms, which also includes flukes.
The tapeworms are referred to as cestodes. There are three species in the United States, Anoplocephala perfoliata, Anoplocephala magna, and Paranoplocephala mamillana . Of the three, only A. perfoliata presents a problem to horse owners in Kentucky because the prevalence rate of A. magna is very low and P. mamillana is not found in Kentucky horses, although it is present in other geographical areas. Proglottids progress through development from immature, mature, adult, and gravid. This last segment contains fertile eggs, sloughs off and passes in the manure as shown in Figure 1 .