Yellowstone National Park N P Brucellosis Remote Vaccination Program For Bison

Brucellosis, a bacterial disease, was first noted in the Greater Yellowstone Area in 1917 and has been a chronic presence there since then. This book reviews existing scientific knowledge regarding brucellosis transmission among wildlife, particularly bison, elk, and cattle, in the Greater Yellowstone Area. It examines the mechanisms of transmission, risk of infection, and vaccination strategies. The book also assesses the actual infection rate among bison and elk and describes what is known about the prevalence of Brucella abortus among other wildlife.

We collected complete sets of tissues, fluids, and swabs (approx 30) from 37 Yellowstone National Park (YNP) female bison (Bison bison) killed as a result of management actions by the Montana Department of Livestock and YNP personnel. Our goal was to establish the relation between blood tests demonstrating an animal has antibody to Brucella and the potential of that animal to be infected during the second trimester of pregnancy the time when most management actions are taken. Twenty-eight of the 37 bison were seropositive adults (27)or a seropositive calf (1). We cultured samples using macerated whole tissues plated onto 4 Brucella selective media and-incubated with added CO2 for a week. Specimens fro1112 adult seropositive females were contaminated, thus eliminating them from our data. Twelve of the remaining 26 seropositive adult and calf female bison (46%)were culture positive for Brucella abortus from 1 or more tissues. Culture positive adult females had high serologic titers. All 11 adults measured 0.115 on the Particle Concentration Fluorescence Immunoassay(PCFIA), and 9 (82%)were