Location: Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research
Title: Mycoplasma bovis results in fatal pneumonia in free-ranging pronghorn (antilocapra americana)Author
JOHNSON, MARGUERITE - University Of Wyoming | |
PECKHAM, ERIKA - Wyoming Department Of Game & Fish | |
KILLION, HALLY - Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory | |
CREEKMORE, TERRY - Wyoming Department Of Game & Fish | |
ALLEN, SAMANTHA - Wyoming Department Of Game & Fish | |
EDWARDS, HANK - Wyoming Department Of Game & Fish | |
VANCE, MADISON - Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory | |
ASHLEY, REBECCA - Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory | |
ANDERSON, CHRISTOPHER - University Of Wyoming | |
VASQUEZ, MARCE - University Of Wyoming | |
MILDENBERGER, JIM - Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory | |
HULL, NOAH - Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory | |
Register, Karen | |
SONDGEROTH, KERRY - University Of Wyoming | |
MALMBERG, JENNIFER - University Of Wyoming |
Submitted to: The Wildlife Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 6/4/2020 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) is an economically important bacterial pathogen of cattle that contributes to polymicrobial bovine respiratory disease. Historically limited to cattle, the host range of M. bovis has more recently expanded to include North American bison, in which the bacterium is highly pathogenic. In 2019, we documented M. bovis infection in a fatal disease outbreak involving at least 60 pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) in northeast Wyoming. The bacterium had not previously been reported in pronghorn. In spring of 2020, another outbreak of M. bovis was documented with over 500 pronghorn deaths in same area of Wyoming. The reemergence of M. bovis in the same pronghorn population suggests either a repeat spillover event from cattle, or infection of naïve pronghorn by animals that survived the 2019 outbreak and served as chronic M. bovis carriers in the recent epizootic. We characterized the pathology and genetics of M. bovis in pronghorn and found that isolates from pronghorn are most similar to those from North American cattle, and more distantly related to isolates from bison and deer. We report that pronghorn are at risk of highly virulent respiratory disease following M. bovis infection, which could have population-level impacts on this sensitive and unique species. |