An outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in an intensively managed conservation herd of wild bison in the Northwest Territories.

An outbreak of bovine tuberculosis was detected in the Hook Lake Wood Bison Recovery Project captive-breeding herd in March 2005. This study investigates the most likely source of Mycobacterium bovis and identifies difficulties associated with salvaging tuberculosis-free animals from an endemically infected herd.

An outbreak of West Nile virus infection in captive lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) ducklings.

This report describes West Nile virus (WNV)-associated mortality in captive lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) ducklings that occurred in Saskatchewan, Canada, in July and August 2007. There were no clinical signs or gross necropsy findings suggestive of the cause of death; however, microscopic lesions were consistent with WNV infection, including nonsuppurative encephalitis and myocardial, pancreatic, and splenic necrosis. Necrosis of the thymus and thyroid was also observed in some birds, which has not previously been reported in association with WNV infection. Immunohistochemistry revealed WNV antigen in multiple tissues, including thymus and thyroid, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction resulted in the identification of WNV gene sequence in all of the ducklings that were tested. This outbreak is of interest because waterfowl (Anseriformes) are not thought to be particularly susceptible to WNV, and there is little information about WNV infection in prefledging birds. The apparent susceptibility of lesser scaup to WNV demonstrated in this study may have implications for declining lesser scaup populations in the wild.

Seroprevalence and risk factors for infection with West Nile virus in Saskatchewan horses, 2003.

The primary objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection of horses in Saskatchewan in 2003 and to identify risk factors for the infection. Blood samples were collected in August and October from 212 horses in 20 herds in 5 geographic zones. After accounting for within-herd clustering, the proportion of horses that had been infected with WNV, as determined by IgG and IgM antibody response, was 55.7% (95% confidence interval, 44.9% to 65.8%). The proportion of antibody-positive horses differed among herds (0% to 100%) and across ecoregions (20% to 76%). Horses in southern ecoregions were more likely to have either IgM antibodies or IgG concentrations suggesting infection than were horses in northern ecoregions. The use of mosquito-control measures was associated with decreased risk. After accounting for ecoregion, there was no difference between recipients of an inactivated WNV vaccine and nonrecipients in the occurrence of antibodies reflecting natural infection.

Comparison of test performance and evaluation of novel immunoassays for tuberculosis in a captive herd of wood bison naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis.

In 1996, the Hook Lake Wood Bison Recovery Project was initiated to establish a small, disease-free, captive, bison-breeding herd. Founders originated from wild bison herds in the Slave River Lowlands in northern Canada, which, like other bison herds in and around Wood Buffalo National Park, are endemically infected with bovine tuberculosis (caused by Mycobacterium bovis) and brucellosis (caused by Brucella abortus). After 9 yr of apparent disease freedom, tuberculosis was detected within the captive herd, leading to complete depopulation. This study examined the performance of antemortem tuberculosis diagnostic tests used during the project. Performances of the caudal-fold test, fluorescent polarization assay, multiantigen print immunoassay (MAPIA), and the rapid test (RT) were assessed by estimating sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for each test. Kappa values measuring agreement between tests were calculated. Overall, the tests did not differ with respect to sensitivities and specificities, which ranged from 50% to 92% and from 34% to 100%, respectively. The MAPIA tended to show high sensitivity, and there was significant agreement only between the MAPIA and RT. Serum collected from infected animals at slaughter produced highly variable results on the different assays, and one infected bison was negative on all antemortem tests. The results of this analysis suggest use of multiple antemortem tests in parallel, particularly those incorporating multiple antigens, to optimize sensitivity in detecting bovine tuberculosis in bison. However, as demonstrated in this herd, even a seemingly optimal antemortem testing regimen can fail to detect M. bovis-infected individuals.