Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #321954
Title: Evidence of bovine viral diarrhea virus infection in three species of sympatric wild ungulates in Nevada: Life history strategies may maintain endemic infections in wild populations

Author
item WOLFF, PEREGRINE - Nevada Department Of Wildlife
item SCHROEDER, CODY - Nevada Department Of Wildlife
item MCADOO, CALEB - Nevada Department Of Wildlife
item COX, MIKE - Nevada Department Of Wildlife
item NELSON, DANIELLE - Washington State University
item EVERMANN, JAMES - Washington State University
item Ridpath, Julia

Submitted to: Frontiers in Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/17/2016
Publication Date: 3/9/2016
Citation: Wolff, P.L., Schroeder, C., McAdoo, C., Cox, M., Nelson, D.D., Evermann, J.F., Ridpath, J.F. 2016. Evidence of bovine viral diarrhea virus infection in three species of sympatric wild ungulates in Nevada: Life history strategies may maintain endemic infections in wild populations. Frontiers in Microbiology. 7:292. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00292.

Interpretive Summary: Bovine viral diarrhea viruses (BVDV) cause disease in domestic cattle. In the state of Nevada, domestic cattle share grass ranges with hooved wildlife species such as big horn sheep, mountain goats and mule deer. Surveillance studies done from 2009 to 2013, indicate that BVDV infects all three wildlife species listed above. Further infection with BVDV may have contributed to die off among these species. It is probably that domestic cattle and these wildlife species transfer BVDV back and forth and that this transmission between species contributes to the maintenance of the BVDV in the environment. This information is important to the design of BVDV control programs.

Technical Abstract: Evidence for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection was detected in 2009-10 during a pneumonia die-off in Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis), and sympatric mountain goats (Oreamnos americanum) in adjacent mountain ranges in Elko County, Nevada. Seroprevalence to BVDV-1 was 81% (N=32) in the bighorns and 100% (N=3) in the mountain goats. Serosurveillance from 2011 to 2015 of surviving bighorns and mountain goats, as well as sympatric mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) indicated a prevalence of 72% (N=45), 45% (N=51), and 51% (N=342) respectively. All species had positive antibody titers to BVDV1 and BVDV2. BVDV1 was isolated in cell culture from three bighorn sheep and a mountain goat kid. BVDV2 was isolated from two mule deer. Six deer (N=96) captured in 2013 were positive for BVDV by antigen-capture ELISA on ear notch and were considered persistently infected. These wild ungulates and cattle concurrently graze public and private lands in these two mountain ranges, thus providing potential for interspecies viral transmission. Like cattle, mule deer, mountain goats, and possibly bighorn sheep can be infected and winter migration patterns and timing may contribute to the long term maintenance of the virus in these populations. Population level impacts of BVDV infection on in these mountain ungulate species are unknown.