ARS | Publication request: DISTANCE TRANSMISSION OF OVINE HERPESVIRUS 2 FROM SHEEP TO BISON

Submitted to: American Society for Virology Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: April 4, 2007
Publication Date: July 15, 2007
Citation: Li, H., Karney, G., O'Toole, D., Crawford, T.B. 2007. DISTANCE TRANSMISSION OF OVINE HERPESVIRUS 2 FROM SHEEP TO BISON. 26th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Virology, July 14-18, 2007, Corvalis, Oregon. p. 282.

Technical Abstract: Malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) is potentially devastating to American bison. Virtually all bison MCF cases in North America are caused by ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2), a member of the gammaherpesvirus subfamily, which is carried almost exclusively by sheep. In this communication, we report transmission of OvHV-2 from feedlot lambs to bison on a neighboring ranch that occurred at distances up to 3 miles. A total of 60 (7.9%) out of 761 bison developed MCF over a six-month period. The percent mortality from MCF in three different bison groups tracked over time on the ranch correlated with the initial distance from the lambs: 17.5%, 6.1%, and 0.43% at approximately 1, 2.6, and 3.2 miles, respectively. The study documented that OvHV-2 can be transmitted over a significant distance under certain conditions, that distance is an important factor in transmission efficiency, and that sheep feedlots are a significant source of virus for transmission.