Duration of Bluetongue Viremia in Experimentally Infected American Bison

Abstract

Six yearling American bison (Bison bison bison) bulls and one yearling ewe (Ovis aries) were inoculated intradermally and subcutaneously with 2 ϫ 10 5 plaque forming units (pfu) of bluetongue (BT) virus serotype 11. Two uninoculated yearling bison bulls served as negative controls. Blood samples were collected for serology and virus isolation on 0, 4, 7, 11 and 14 days post-inoculation (dpi) and every 2 wk thereafter to 127 dpi. Every 4 wk a new ewe was inoculated with a pooled sample of whole blood from the six infected bison, and each sheep was monitored for 28 days for clinical signs of BT and seroconversion. Bluetongue viremia was detected in all six inoculated bison starting at 4 to 28 dpi and was no longer detectable from 42 dpi onward. Pooled blood samples collected at 28, 56, 84 and 112 dpi from the six infected bison were not infectious for sheep. The six infected bison seroconverted by 11 to 28 dpi on a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by 28 dpi on the serum neutralization test, and all remained seropositive thereafter. No clinical signs or lesions attributable to BT were observed in the infected bison or controls. There was evidence that a small amount of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus type 2 had been present in the BT virus inoculum; reasons are given for concluding that this did not affect the results of the BT study.

Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Bluetongue Virus in Wild Ruminants, Spain

“…This result is not surprising because other wild ruminant species have been reported to be susceptible to BTV infec- tion (8)(9)(10). We observed some differences in BTV seroprevalence between ruminant species (Table).…”

“…Several wild ruminant species are susceptible to BTV infection (8)(9)(10). Red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are the most common wild ruminants in Spain; moufl on (Ovis aries), fallow deer (Dama dama), and aoudad (Ammotragus lervia) are less common (11).…”

Bluetongue in Europe and the role of wildlife in the epidemiology of disease

“…It was shown that wild sheep such as bighorn (Ovis canadensis) and mouflon (Ovis aries musimon) are susceptible to BTV infection and can develop fatal clinical disease, as do closely related domestic sheep (Fernandez-Pacheco et al 2008). The clinical signs of BT were also produced after experimental infection of pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra Americana), American bison (Bison bison), and African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) (Tessaro and Clavijo, 2001). Under natural conditions the disease may also be present in wapiti (Cervus elaphus canadensis), axis deer (Axis axis), fellow deer (Dama dama), sika deer (Cervus nippon), musk deer (Moschus moschiferus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica), and captive yak (Bos grunniens grunniens (Howerth et al 2001, Fernandez-Pacheco et al 2008, Ruiz-Fons et al 2008, Rodriquez-Sanchez et al 2010.…”

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Outbreak in a Captive Facility Housing White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Bison (Bison bison), Elk (Cervus elaphus), Cattle (Bos taurus), and Goats (Capra hircus) in Colorado, USA

“…comm.). 15,26 Numerous outbreaks of EHDV-2 occurred during 2007 throughout North America. Some affected regions were areas where the disease had previously never been reported (D. E. Stallknecht, 2008, unpubl.…”

“…), in addition to white-tailed deer. 15,26 Natural infections occur in mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus subsp. ), pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis subsp.…”