DNA Genotyping Suggests that Recent Brucellosis Outbreaks in the Greater Yellowstone Area Originated from Elk
Beja-Pereira A, Bricker B, Chen S, Almendra C, White PJ, Luikar G. 2009. DNA Genotyping Suggests that Recent Brucellosis Outbreaks in the Greater Yellowstone Area Originated from Elk. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 45(4):1174-1177
Identifying the source of infectiousdisease outbreaks is difficult, especially forpathogens that infect multiple wildlife species. Brucella spp. are among the most problematiczoonotic agents worldwide, and they arenotoriously difficult to detect and identify. We genotyped 10 variable number of tandemrepeat (VNTR) DNA loci in 56 Brucella abortusisolates from bison (Bos bison), elk (Cervuselaphus), and cattle (Bos taurus) to test thewildlife species most likely to be the origin ofrecent outbreaks of brucellosis in cattle in theGreater Yellowstone Area. Isolates from cattleand elk were nearly identical but highlydivergent from bison isolates. These datasuggest elk, not bison, are the reservoir speciesof origin for these cattle infections. This studyillustrates the potential power of VNTR genotypingto assess the origin of disease outbreaks,which are increasing worldwide followinghabitat fragmentation, climate change, andexpansion of human and livestock populations.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Beja-Pereira, Albano; Bricker, Betsy; Chen, Shanyuan; Almendra, Claudia; White, P.; Luikar, Gordon
- Units
- GRYN
- Keywords
- Bison, Brucella abortus, DNA, Elk, genotyping, pathogen transmission, reemerging infectious disease, trace-back study, zoonosis