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Brucellosis is a bacterial disease of cattle that has become established in elk (Cervus elaphus) and bison (Bison bison) of the Greater Yellowstone Area. It causes elk and bison to abort and has the potential to be transmitted to domestic cattle which are now free of the disease. In this study we examined how long Brucella abortus strain RB51, as a surrogate for field strain B. abortus, could survive on healthy bovine fetuses placed in the Wyoming environment from February through June. When fetuses were placed out in February, bacteria were isolated for an average of 17.1 days (sd=6.8 days) on the exposed surface of the fetuses, and 60.5 days (sd=2.8 days) on the underside. In March, the bacteria survived for an average of 15.5 days on the surface (sd=13.3 days) and 39.5 days on the underside (sd=10.2 days); In April they survived 4.0 days on the top (sd=3.2 days) and 8.8 days on the bottom (sd=6.1); In May they lasted and average 0.6 days on the top (sd=0.5 days) and 2.8 days on the bottom (sd=1.4 days); and in June the bacteria were isolated for an average of 0.3 days from the exposed surface (sd=0.5 days) and 4.7 days on the underside (sd=5.4 days). We found that aborted fetuses could potentially serve as a source of B. abortus infection for extended periods of time depending on when the abortion occurs. In depth data analysis is still ongoing and will be included in the final report.

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Found in Bison LibraryNatureBib ID: 652069

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