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Brucellosis

Additional brucellosis cases found in Wyoming herds

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Last Updated on Friday, 07 January 2011 14:02
Written by Echo Renner

In addition to the existing case in Park County, brucellosis has been confirmed in a privately owned bison herd in Park County, and is suspected in a cattle herd in Sublette County.
Preliminary tests Nov. 23 indicate possible brucellosis in one Sublette County cow tested at the Riverton Livestock Auction. By the next day, the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab confirmed a second blood test as “hot.” The suspect herd is under quarantine, and was blood-tested Nov. 28, by Wyoming Livestock Board (WLSB) veterinarian Chris Strang. Adjacent and contact herds are being notified, and the cow has been slaughtered and tissue samples sent for culture testing. Results of the blood and culture tests are expected within the first week of December.
While the infection outbreak in the bison herd is not related to the brucellosis case in the Park County cattle herd discovered in late October, it is within the Wyoming Designated Surveillance Area (DSA), and appears to also be caused by exposure to infected free-ranging elk.  
“The (bison) herd owner was selling 12 heifers by private sale for out of state slaughter,” said Wyoming Assistant State Veterinarian Bob Meyer at a public meeting in Meeteetse Nov. 30. “The herd owner wanted to make sure they were clean from brucellosis, and had them tested Nov. 10. Out of the 12 heifers, there were two reactors. We euthanized one of the heifers and took blood and tissue samples that were cultured by the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab and the National Vet Services Lab. On Nov. 24 that heifer was confirmed to have Brucella abortus, Biovar 1, the field strain of brucellosis.”      
The WLSB’s state veterinarians began testing the herd, and out of 253 bison, 18 more reactors were discovered.     
USDA-APHIS designated the herd as an “affected herd,” and the WLSB quarantined it and one adjacent herd. Meyer anticipates testing to be completed on the affected herd and adjacent herds by Dec. 10. Epidemiologic interviews are underway to determine the extent of this outbreak. The WLSB is referring to the affected bison herd as Herd 2, while the case discovered in the Park County cattle in October is referred to as Herd 1.
Meyer says there are about 1,400 head of bison in the entire herd, and he is working with the owners to test the remainder of the herd and develop a herd management plan.  
“There are two contact herds for sure, and there may be one or two more,” says Meyer.  “No cattle have gotten in with these bison, and the bison haven’t gotten out, but there are cattle that share a boundary. We’ve tested all the cattle herds that were related to first herd, and we have a good start on some of the herds that are adjacent to second herd. Some of the herds that are adjacent to the second herd are also adjacent to the first herd, and they’ve already been tested and were negative. So far, we haven’t found any cows in an adjacent herd that could explain the infection of those herds. The preliminary epidemiology points to infected elk as probably being the source of these infections.”   
Over the past year and a half, USDA-APHIS has coordinated with all state veterinarians to develop changes to the federal brucellosis rules. The state veterinarians of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana have had considerable input into these discussions. The new or “Interim Rule” provides the state and affected herd owners with some flexibility in how situations are handled.  
Wyoming State Veterinarian Jim Logan said in a recent news release, “We expect to have occasional brucellosis cases in our DSA since we have the last remaining reservoir of Brucella abortus in this country in the Greater Yellowstone Area. Livestock producers take many precautions to prevent exposure to wildlife, but there are some situations that even the best management cannot always avoid.”
As Logan is out of the office on medical leave, Meyer has taken the lead in the brucellosis cases.
The WLSB encourages producers not to panic, as the affected herds should be able to “test-out,” or slaughter only confirmed brucellosis infected animals, rather than slaughter their entire herds.
Echo Renner is a field editor for the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .


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APHIS denies extension for herd depopulation

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 October 2008 07:48
Written by Jennifer Womack
Cheyenne – A Daniel rancher whose herd was found to be infected with brucellosis earlier this summer has until Aug. 29 to depopulate his herd or Wyoming will lose its brucellosis free status.
    According to a mid-July memo from Wyoming State Veterinarian Walt Cook, two timeline extension requests were submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The first request, asking for more time to test adjacent herds, was granted. That gives the state until Oct. 31 to complete testing on neighboring herds.
    The second request, which would have allowed the producer until after this fall’s tests are complete to make his decision, was denied. If another brucellosis-infected animal is found this fall Wyoming would lose its class free status regardless of the Daniel producer’s decision.
    “He is most likely going to test out, keep testing and removing positives until his herd is declared clean,” says Cook. “He may change his mind before Aug. 29, but I doubt it very much. He will be testing his herd again next week and again late August. He will be analyzing those results to make up his mind 100 percent.”
    Unless the producer changes his mind Wyoming will lose its brucellosis-free status, but Cook says he’s not yet sure what that will mean for livestock producers across Wyoming. “I am sure there will be some statewide testing requirement. But, we are hoping we can limit that to breeding animals only and do more in-depth testing in the risk area,” says Cook.
    Sublette County producers have expressed their support for the Daniel rancher’s decision not to depopulate his herd. WLSB officials, in earlier editions of the Roundup, have said it’s time to update federal regulations surrounding brucellosis to better reflect present-day situations. The regulations were written at a time when cattle to cattle transmission was the largest risk pertaining to brucellosis. With the wildlife to livestock transmission risk in northwest Wyoming, depopulating a cattle herd does little to nothing to mitigate disease risk. Participants in recent online poll at www.wylr.net agreed, with nearly all respondents saying it’s time to update the federal regulations.
    Two neighboring herds have been tested with no cattle testing positive for brucellosis. Additional herds will be tested this fall when they come off summer pasture. As additional testing gets underway on the producer’s ranch and others, Cook says the state and federal government do pay for the testing. “Personnel from both agencies take the samples and we pay for the actual testing at the state vet lab.”
    Jennifer Womack is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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APHIS may change brucellosis rules

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Last Updated on Thursday, 23 April 2009 06:20
Written by Jennifer Womack
Special management zone gains support
Riverton – Just back from the U.S. Animal Health Association (USAHA) meeting, Assistant State Veterinarian Jim Logan says the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is considering changes to the national rules governing management of the disease brucellosis.
    Animal health officials from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming as well as a subcommittee of the USAHA have been discussing changes and took their ideas to the meeting. They were met with an APHIS-generated proposal. Committee members weren’t prepared to support sweeping changes in any detail without having first thoroughly reviewed the ideas, but Logan says they did back the special management zone concept.
     “It’s fairly similar to what the USAHA subcommittee and the tri-state group had suggested some ideas toward,” says Logan of the APHIS proposal. “It would allow for several infected herds within the zone or identified surveillance area without affecting the status in the rest of the state,” says Logan. “If we found cases outside the zone then status certainly could be affected.”
    APHIS has dubbed the effort the “National Brucellosis Elimination Zone” or “NBEZ” and has prepared a nine-page brochure outlining the concept. Logan says, “State vets and industry people expressed their willingness to work with APHIS and the states to develop something that will hopefully be beneficial to producers.” Based on an APHIS presentation Logan says the effort may serve as a template for other diseases, like tuberculosis, that are present in both wildlife and livestock.
    APHIS, says Logan, realizes the effort will require additional dollars to aid producers with surveillance costs and projects to ensure separation of wildlife and livestock. It also calls for memorandums of understanding (MOU) with state and federal wildlife agencies to address the wildlife component. “It holds the wildlife side accountable for working on the disease,” says Logan.
    Logan says there was concern among some Wyoming producers that Wyoming Livestock Board (WLSB) officials were attending the meeting to request a reduction in the testing age from 18 months to 12 months, which was not the case. “The details were not part of the resolution,” he says. The agency has been discussing amendments to its own state-level Chapter 2 Brucellosis Rules while at the same time working to see that the federal regulations are updated. It’s a scenario that may have caused some confusion among producers. With brucellosis testing and surveillance underway in western Wyoming the WLSB has tabled changes to its rules until later this year or early next year.
    “At this stage,” says Logan, “I expect the WLSB will sit back and see what APHIS develops since the concepts are similar to what the USAHA and tri-state groups talked about. The devil will certainly be in the details. We’re talking to the higher-up in APHIS and trying to keep it so producers in that area can stay in business and common sense remains in the plan.”
    “Six months at the earliest and probably longer,” he says when asked how soon changes might be implemented. “I wish I knew. It depends on who you talk to and what their ideas for change are.”
    Logan stresses the importance of how the state moves forward and the fine-tuning of regulations to assure Wyoming’s trading partners of clean cattle. “We were told by other state veterinarians at the USAHA meeting that there is a lot of concern about purchasing cattle from the GYA now that the rest of the country has become brucellosis free. Unfortunately many of the producers in the state do not grasp the significance of the other state veterinarian’s concerns. Other states don’t want to buy the disease and I don’t blame them.”
    A related article on the APHIS’ National Brucellosis Elimination Zone can be found on Page 10 of this edition. A copy of the document itself can be found at www.wylr.net by clicking on the scrolling text at the upper right hand corner of the main page. Jennifer Womack is managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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APHIS grants bruc. extension

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 October 2008 08:31
Written by Christy Hemken
Cheyenne - The Wyoming Livestock Board (WLSB) has received an official letter stating the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has granted an extension for the depopulation of a herd in western Wyoming from which cattle have tested positive for brucellosis.
    The Daniel producer who owns the herd will test his cattle again on Aug. 25 and 26, after which the samples will be delivered to the state vet lab in Laramie. Wyoming Assistant State Veterinarian Jim Logan says results should be known by Aug. 28.
    “According to the extension, after he’s informed of the results of the testing he has two working days to make a decision about depopulation,” says Logan. For example, if he gets the results on a Friday he’ll have until the next Tuesday to make a decision. The original deadline for depopulation was Aug. 29, after which Wyoming would have lost its brucellosis-free status.
    If the producer does decide to depopulate his herd, he’ll have 30 days following his decision day to complete the action. If not, he’ll stay under quarantine until there are at least three full-herd negative tests taken no less than 30 days apart. The last one has to be at least six months later, if not more, and has to be after calving.
    “In the second test we took in July, 30 days after the first test, we found seven more positive, so it’s very possible that we could have some more, but it’s also very possible we could not,” explains Logan. “The reason we do these tests at least 30 days apart is because of the variation in the incubation period in any given animal. Although they all may have been exposed at the same time, they may not all test positive at the same time.”
    Logan says sometimes brucellosis can incubate for longer than a year, but that anywhere from two weeks to a few months is typical. “In rare cases there have been animals exposed as calves that haven’t shown up positive on a blood test for several years,” he says, explaining that Latent Heifer Syndrome is a mystery in that it incubates but doesn’t show up on a test.
    “Now we’re waiting on the producer and trying not to put any more pressure on him than he already has,” notes Logan. “It’s a big weight to have the status of the entire state on your shoulders.”
    In a mid-August meeting the WLSB adopted changes to the Chapter 2 Brucellosis Rules that expand the area in which brucellosis testing is required. Due to increased elk seroprevelance in western Park County, the WLSB is concerned about the possibility of the spread of brucellosis from elk to cattle in that area. Emergency rules that would go into effect immediately have been sent to Gov. Freudenthal.
    The emergency rules will be in effect for 120 days, during which the Chapter 2 rules will be out for informal comment for 30 days, followed by a formal comment period of 45 days. A draft of the proposed rules can be obtained from the WLSB at 307-777-7515, or on the WLSB website at http://wlsb.state.wy.us.
    Public meetings will be held to discuss the proposed rules in Pinedale at the Pinedale High School Auditorium, 101 E. Hennick Street, on Sept. 23rd at 7 p.m.; in Cody at the Park County Extension Office, EOC Room, Courthouse, 1002 Sheridan Ave., on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.; and in Douglas at the Fairgrounds Cafeteria on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.
    Christy Hemken is assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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Bruc plan completed for Wyo bison

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Last Updated on Thursday, 07 August 2008 09:17
Written by Christy Hemken
Jackson - The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has completed Brucellosis Management Action Plans (BMAPs) for two bison herds in the state’s northwest corner.
    Following the lead of other BMAPs for elk and cattle, these plans outline what livestock producers and wildlife managers can do to reduce brucellosis risk and transmission among wildlife and from wildlife to livestock.
    “In contrast to the BMAPs for elk herds, in the bison plans we listed four actions we’re going to pursue, rather than options we’re going to look into,” says Brucellosis Information and Education Specialist Chris Colligan.
    The first action is to reduce the population of Wyoming bison herds to herd objective, which is 500 animals. “The second is to maintain habitat,” says Colligan. “Any opportunity to improve habitat – specifically winter range – will spread the animals out.”
    Last season the WGFD allowed a much higher bison harvest than in the past, partly because of permits allowed on the National Elk Refuge. “We increased permits for bison in an attempt to bring the herd down to the population objective,” says Colligan.
    The third action is to minimize the risk of transmission from bison to cattle through separation of the two. “In the past we’ve hazed animals that were getting close to domestic livestock operations,” says Colligan. “We’ve also used hunters to provide a disturbance or to remove animals.”
    Lastly, the WGFD is considering vaccinating the bison herds. “At this time that action is not going to be effective, and we’re going to wait for the development of a more efficacious vaccine,” he says, adding that vaccine delivery mechanisms also need to be improved.
    The National Park Service (NPS) has been vaccinating bison within Yellowstone Park, and Colligan says the WGFD will wait to see how that goes, then improve on the techniques used there. “We’re going to wait for the best science to become available before we begin vaccination,” he says.
    Colligan says Wyoming’s bison have historically had a high sero-prevalence. “Brucellosis has been documented in herds within Yellowstone and Wyoming, although we haven’t documented any cases of transmission from bison to cattle,” he says, explaining that bison don’t interact with cattle as freely as elk.
    “Most bison in the Jackson area are supplementally fed throughout the winter so they remain concentrated in the National Elk Refuge,” he says. “The bison coming out of Yellowstone to the Absaroka herd units are typically only bulls, with very few cows coming out of the Park to the east, and transmission risk is greater from the cows.”
    According to the WGFD, an average of 64 percent of male bison test positive for the disease, while females test an average of 59 percent positive.
    For cattle grazing in Grand Teton National Park, Colligan says the NPS has developed a grazing system to ensure separation of cattle and bison in both spatial and temporal aspects. Brucellosis vaccination is also required for cattle grazing in that park.
    The bison plans were the last two BMAPs completed by the WGFD through cooperation with land management agencies and livestock producers. In Dec. 2007 public comments were taken in Cody and Jackson regarding the management plans.
    “The more people we can get to read the plans, the better,” says Colligan. “It’s important they see how the Game and Fish is trying to work with producers.”
    To view the plans, visit http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/Brucellosis/index.asp. Christy Hemken is assistant editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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