Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Bison: Susceptibility, Lesions, Shedding, and Transmission
Abstract
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) has never been diagnosed in bison (Bison bison) in North America. The disease has been observed in European bison (Bison bonasus),1,3-5 American bison,2 and hybrids1 in European zoos and preserves. In recent years, the commercial bison industry in the U.S. has grown substantially along with the development of new public herds, and there are currently over 250,000 bison in North America. Virtually nothing is known about the disease in American bison. In this pilot study, we attempted to compare the susceptibility of bison to FMD with that of cattle, determine whether intraspecies and interspecies transmission could occur in bison and cattle, determine if standard laboratory tests detect FMD in bison, and determine if bison are efficient long-term carriers or shedders of FMD.
After one week of acclimation to containment at Plum Island Animal Disease Center, two yearling intact male bison and two seven- to nine-month-old castrated male Holstein cattle were anesthetized and temperature radio transmitters were implanted intraperitoneally. One bison and one steer were each inoculated with 10,000 lesion forming units of O1 Manisa FMD virus by four intraepithelial tongue injections of 0.2 ml each. The inoculated animals were kept overnight with the other two radio telemetered animals. The following day the inoculated and exposed cattle and bison were placed in two rooms with two naïve yearling intact male bison in each room. The two cattle and all bison developed clinical signs and lesions consistent with FMD in other ungulate species. The two bison with temperature transmitters developed transient fevers of 41.8°C. Bison developed lameness, inappetence, and ptyalism. Physical examination revealed numerous small vesicles and erosions affecting tongue, gingiva, muzzle, hard and soft palates, coronary bands, and interdigital skin. At necropsy during the acute phase, there were also erosions located on the ruminal pillars of one bison. At necropsy five weeks post-infection, bison had evidence of healed oral lesions and hoof deformities.
All bison developed antibody to FMD virus and were positive for FMD virus by RT-PCR. An attempt to transmit the infection from bison 11 days post-exposure to naive cattle by direct exposure failed. Future studies will attempt to demonstrate FMD virus transmission from bison to cattle and evaluate immunologic protection in bison produced by vaccination.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Heather Lomaga, Jeffrey Hayes, Karen Wickert, Brenda Donahue, Jessica Dio, Jessica Montez, Marylou Berninger, and members of the Animal Care Group on Plum Island Animal Disease Center for their assistance in various phases of this work.
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