A warning has been issued to wash clothes and shoes due to a strange disease currently spreading across the UK which can be passed on by the public.

Right now, flu is peaking with cases spreading like wildfire. But at the same time, another disease being spread by people is wreaking havoc for vets, too.

Strangles is a deadly infection which affects horses but is passed on by people too. The respiratory illness named 'the most feared infectious disease' by owners has seen a 25% increase in cases this year compared to 2024, according to veterinary pharmaceutical company Dechra.

By October 2025, the number of confirmed cases in the UK was already over 25% higher than a typical full year, and a study by Dr Abigail McGlennon and the RVC (Royal Veterinary College) has found that frequent transmission of the disease is now occurring 'across different UK regions'.

Whether it be riding schools, countryside walks, racecourses, or other public events, many Brits come in to contact with horses on a regular basis, and any human coming in to contact with an infected horse could pass it on, either directly, or via unwashed shoes or clothing, warns Dechra.

Bex Glasgow, a veterinary surgeon at Dechra, has advice on how the public can help prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease.

She urged people not to feed or touch horses without permission, including those in fields on countryside walks. You could unknowingly spread infection from one animal to another.

If you've been around horses - even for a short visit or day out - be sure to wash your clothes and disinfect your boots before going to another yard, farm, or coming into close contact with another horse.

Ms Glasgow warns: "Extensive research in this field demonstrates that strangles is the disease that worries UK horse owners the most, and confirmed cases in 2025 have comfortably surpassed the typical annual average.

"The public can help horse owners to keep this infectious disease as controlled as possible by washing and disinfecting clothes and boots, and by avoiding contact with any horses suspected of carrying strangles.

"Approximately 10% of horses that recover from strangles become carriers of the disease, harbouring the bacteria that causes strangles in their guttural pouches without showing any symptoms. These carriers can then spread the infection to others, causing new strangles outbreaks.

"For this reason, strangles is a particularly tricky disease to keep under wraps."