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January 25 Story
Elk targeted for brucellosis tests
By Rebecca Huntington
JACKSON HOLE DAILY
Wildlife managers plan to kill three elk on the South Park feed ground in order to see whether the elk caused a brucellosis outbreak in two Teton County cattle herds.
Wildlife officials also announced Monday plans to kill 15 elk on the Alpine feed ground to research high brucellosis exposure rates there and assess overall herd health.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming State Veterinarian Laboratory are cooperating on the studies, which will be done this month.
Federal agricultural officials requested elk samples from South Park after ranchers had to destroy cattle infected by brucellosis. Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch shipped off most of its 750-head herd, and Jackson Rancher Steve Hardeman destroyed 104 cattle this year after a disease outbreak.
Elk that winter on the South Park feed ground are the suspected source of disease.
Game and Fish will capture and test elk for brucellosis on the feed ground as part of routine surveillance. Game and Fish will then kill three female elk that test positive to try to culture tissue samples. Researchers will then extract a DNA fingerprint and compare it to samples taken from infected cattle.
Comparing DNA profiles of brucellosis bacteria taken from elk and cattle could produce a match. Disease experts have warned that matches do not prove how a disease got from one species to another.
Even so, the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wants to see if there is a link, said Bret Combs, area veterinarian-in-charge for the agency.
Also, samples taken from South Park will be included in a study designed to assess a new testing technique, which could enhance speed and accuracy in confirming brucellosis infections, said Hank Edwards, Game and Fish wildlife disease specialist.
Researchers want to take samples from the Alpine feed ground to try to explain a jump in brucellosis exposure rates to 59 percent, up from 9 percent five years ago.
Since brucellosis causes elk to abort, researchers should find a lot of fetuses on the feed ground at such high disease rates, Edwards said. But that hasn't happened, he said. Also, "That's why it's got us so baffled," he said.
Researchers will take tissue samples from elk that test positive to see whether an unrelated bacteria or the vaccine itself is causing false positives, he said.
"Unfortunately, the only way to tell if these elk really have brucellosis is to culture tissues from a necropsy," he said.
The elk carcasses will be used to test for other viruses and parasites to determine the overall health of the herd as well, he said.
Brucellosis infects free-ranging elk and bison in the greater Yellowstone area. Brucellosis rates among elk are highest on feed grounds where the animals are concentrated in artificially high numbers at a time when they're most infectious. The brucellosis outbreaks in cattle caused Wyoming to lose its brucellosis-free status, triggering costly testing requirements for ranchers.
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/DailyStory.html
Elk targeted for brucellosis tests
By Rebecca Huntington
JACKSON HOLE DAILY
Wildlife managers plan to kill three elk on the South Park feed ground in order to see whether the elk caused a brucellosis outbreak in two Teton County cattle herds.
Wildlife officials also announced Monday plans to kill 15 elk on the Alpine feed ground to research high brucellosis exposure rates there and assess overall herd health.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming State Veterinarian Laboratory are cooperating on the studies, which will be done this month.
Federal agricultural officials requested elk samples from South Park after ranchers had to destroy cattle infected by brucellosis. Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch shipped off most of its 750-head herd, and Jackson Rancher Steve Hardeman destroyed 104 cattle this year after a disease outbreak.
Elk that winter on the South Park feed ground are the suspected source of disease.
Game and Fish will capture and test elk for brucellosis on the feed ground as part of routine surveillance. Game and Fish will then kill three female elk that test positive to try to culture tissue samples. Researchers will then extract a DNA fingerprint and compare it to samples taken from infected cattle.
Comparing DNA profiles of brucellosis bacteria taken from elk and cattle could produce a match. Disease experts have warned that matches do not prove how a disease got from one species to another.
Even so, the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service wants to see if there is a link, said Bret Combs, area veterinarian-in-charge for the agency.
Also, samples taken from South Park will be included in a study designed to assess a new testing technique, which could enhance speed and accuracy in confirming brucellosis infections, said Hank Edwards, Game and Fish wildlife disease specialist.
Researchers want to take samples from the Alpine feed ground to try to explain a jump in brucellosis exposure rates to 59 percent, up from 9 percent five years ago.
Since brucellosis causes elk to abort, researchers should find a lot of fetuses on the feed ground at such high disease rates, Edwards said. But that hasn't happened, he said. Also, "That's why it's got us so baffled," he said.
Researchers will take tissue samples from elk that test positive to see whether an unrelated bacteria or the vaccine itself is causing false positives, he said.
"Unfortunately, the only way to tell if these elk really have brucellosis is to culture tissues from a necropsy," he said.
The elk carcasses will be used to test for other viruses and parasites to determine the overall health of the herd as well, he said.
Brucellosis infects free-ranging elk and bison in the greater Yellowstone area. Brucellosis rates among elk are highest on feed grounds where the animals are concentrated in artificially high numbers at a time when they're most infectious. The brucellosis outbreaks in cattle caused Wyoming to lose its brucellosis-free status, triggering costly testing requirements for ranchers.
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/DailyStory.html
