Effects of management, behavior, and scavenging on risk of brucellosis transmission in elk of western Wyoming.

Brucellosis is endemic in elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) using winter feedgrounds of western Wyoming, USA presumably because of increased animal density, duration of attendance, and subsequent contact with aborted fetuses. However, previous research addressed antibody prevalence rather than more direct measures of transmission and did not account for elk behavior or scavenging in transmission risk. Throughout March and early April 2005-07, we monitored 48 sets of culture-negative, pseudoaborted elk fetuses, placentas, and fluids (fetal units, FUs) on one winter free-ranging (WFR) location and four sites (Feedline, High Traffic, Low Traffic, Adjacent) associated with four feedgrounds.

Effects of management and climate on elk brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Every winter, government agencies feed approximately 6000 metric tons (6 x 10(6) kg) of hay to elk in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) to limit transmission of Brucella abortus, the causative agent of brucellosis, from elk to cattle. Supplemental feeding, however, is likely to increase the transmission of brucellosis in elk, and may be affected by climatic factors, such as snowpack. We assessed these possibilities using snowpack and feeding data from 1952 to 2006 and disease testing data from 1993 to 2006.