Brucellosis Infected Cattle Found in Northwestern Wyoming

A herd of cattle in northwestern Wyoming have been found to have three head of cattle infected with Brucellosis.

The Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory and the National Veterinary Services Laboratory notified Wyoming state veterinarian, Dr. Jim Logan, on Oct. 11 of the new case of Brucellosis. The cattle herd is located in Park County which is in the Wyoming Brucellosis Designated Surveillance Area.

Serologic testing by both laboratories showed reactor level results on three animals from a single cattle herd. Additional testing including bacterial culture will be conducted to confirm serology results.

The owner of the infected cattle, and the owners of six contact herds are getting assistance from Logan, and assistant state field veterinarian, Dr. Thach Winslow, to determine risk levels and conduct an epidemiologic investigation.

The infected herd is currently under quarantine and quarantines will be issued to contact herd owners as the investigation proceeds. The contact herd owners have been held to an order movement restrictions and no sexually-intact cattle can be moved until the herd has been cleared by a complete risk assessment and appropriate brucellosis testing is conducted.

Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that can cause cattle, elk, and bison to abort their pregnancies, typically late term.

Since 1988, all of Wyoming’s brucellosis cases have been determined to have been caused by transmission from infected wildlife to cattle or domestic bison. The last cases in Wyoming were found in late 2015 and the last affected herd was released in June of 2017.

A large portion of Yellowstone National Park is located in Park County where there are large populations of wild bison and elk.

For more information, contact the Wyoming Livestock Board field office at 307-857-4140.