Published January 1997
by Wyoming Game and Fish Dept. .
Written in English
| The Physical Object | |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | 219 |
| ID Numbers | |
| Open Library | OL8712442M |
| ISBN 10 | 1889290009 |
| ISBN 10 | 9781889290003 |
| OCLC/WorldCa | 37630748 |
Bovine brucellosis has been nearly eliminated from livestock in the United States. Bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area remain reservoirs for the disease. During –, no known cases occurred in Greater Yellowstone Area by: Bovine brucellosis has been nearly eliminated from livestock in the United States. Bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area remain reservoirs for the disease. During –, no known cases occurred in Greater Yellowstone Area livestock. Since then, 17 transmission events from wildlife to livestock have been investigated. BRUCELLOSIS IN ELK IN THE GREATER YELLOWSTONE AREA TERRY J. KREEGER,' Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Sybille Wildlife Research Unit, Wheatland, WY , USA Abstract: Brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial disease of both animals and humans. Infection of the female reproductive tract may result in abortion. Abstract: Elk (Cervus elaphus) and bison (Bison bison) of the Greater Yellowstone area are the last known reservoir of bovine brucellosis (Brucella abortus) in the United States.
In cattle, the primary cause of brucellosis is Brucella abortus, a zoonotic bacterial pathogen that also affects wildlife, including bison and elk. As a result of the Brucellosis Eradication Program that began in , most of the country is now free of bovine brucellosis. The Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). The only known focus of Brucella abortus infection left in the nation is in bison and elk in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). With respect to this area, APHIS is cooperating with State and Federal agencies to implement a bison management plan, in order to provide for a free ranging bison herd and to prevent exposure of cattle to potentiallyFile Size: 74KB. Brucellosis is a nonnative, bacterial disease that induces abortions in pregnant cattle, elk, and bison. Cattle brought brucellosis to the Yellowstone area in the early s and transmitted it to local wildlife populations. The biggest risk of brucellosis to livestock in the U.S. is wild elk and bison that harbor the disease in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA). If livestock are exposed to aborted fetuses, or the tissues or discharges of infected wildlife, they may contract the disease.
Scientists writing in the book Yellowstone Bison observe: "The estimated risk of brucellosis exposure to cattle from Yellowstone bison is insignificant (less than 1 percent) compared to elk (more than 99 percent of total risk) because elk have a larger overlap with cattle and are more tolerated by managers and livestock producers,” they noted. Billions of dollars have been spent to eradicate brucellosis from cattle in this country. In the United States, Brucella abortus only persists in the bison and elk populations of the Greater Yellowstone Area. Rates of Infection. About 60 percent of adult female bison in Yellowstone test positive for exposure to the Brucella bacteria. However. The wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem carries brucellosis, which was first introduced to the area by cattle in the 19th century. Brucellosis transmission between wildlife and livestock has been difficult to study due to challenges in culturing the causative agent, Brucella examined B. abortus transmission between American bison (Bison bison), Rocky Mountain elk Cited by: 6. Edwards ). As with bison, the proportion of elk actually infected is highly variable and uncertain. In past sampling efforts, 35 to 63% of elk that tested seropositive were actually infected (Scurlock ). The potential for disease transmission between bison, elk and cattle makes the epidemiology of brucellosis highly complex.
