Sublette elk tested for brucellosis

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

By Cat Urbigkit

The second year of the state’s elk test-and-removal pilot project moved forward Monday when 173 elk were captured at the Muddy Creek elk feedground near Boulder, including 79 adult female elk that were held and processed for brucellosis testing. A total of 13 adult females tested seropositive for the disease and were shipped to an eastern Idaho slaughter facility Tuesday morning.

Brucellosis is a bacterial-caused disease of the reproductive tract, so only adult females are tested for the disease. Brucellosis causes abortion in hoofed animals and is transmitted by direct contact with infected animals or with an environment that has been contaminated with discharges from infected animals. There is no cure for the disease.
Testing involves drawing a blood sample from a vein in the elk’s neck to test for the presence of brucella antibodies. Some animals may lack antibodies but may still be infected if they are incubating the bacteria. Killing animals that have a positive or a suspect test is generally necessary so that tissue samples can be obtained for bacteriological culture.

The pilot project is a recommendation of Wyoming’s Brucellosis Coordination Team and involves a limited test-and-slaughter program on elk at Muddy Creek in attempt to reduce the brucellosis seroprevalence rate in the elk herd. Last year, 58 cow elk were removed from the Muddy Creek feedground, of which 18 had tissues that cultured positive for the disease. Researchers warn that culture negatives are often inconclusive, because the process is dependent upon selecting the exact tissue that harbors the bacteria.


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Sublette elk tested for brucellosis | Planet JH News Article: General Environment

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