U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research: Ames, IA
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    CareersSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Midwest Area Ames, Iowa National Animal Disease Center Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Stoffregen, Williamitem
                                            Olsen, Stevenitem
                                            WHEELER, C - USDA, APHIS, VSitem
                                            Bricker, Betsyitem
                                            Palmer, Mitchellitem
                                            Jensen, Allenitem
                                            Halling, Shirleyitem
                                            Alt, David
  Submitted to: Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 2/7/2007
                                    Publication  Date: 5/1/2007
                                    Citation: Stoffregen, W.C., Olsen, S.C., Wheeler, C.J., Bricker, B.J., Palmer, M.V., Jensen, A.E., Halling, S.M., Alt, D.P. 2007. Diagnostic Characterization of a Feral Swine Herd Enzootically Infected with Brucella. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. 19(3):227-237.Interpretive Summary: Swine brucellosis is a bacterial disease caused by Brucella suis which causes abortions and chronic infections of multiple organs.  The bacteria which cause brucellosis in swine are also capable of infecting humans who have contact with infected swine or swine products from infected animals.  Infected feral swine may also serve as a reservoir of infection for domestic livestock.  The current paper characterizes Brucella infection in a feral swine herd.  The work reported within this paper found that this feral swine herd was not only infected with Brucella suis but also Brucella abortus.  Prior to this report, it was thought that the only reservoir of Brucella abortus infection in the United States was within elk and bison populations in the Greater Yellowstone Area of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.  This paper also characterized lesions found within this feral swine herd which could be associated with the Brucella infection.  The paper also shows that standard serologic diagnostic techniques are not highly sensitive to diagnose brucellosis in chronically infected swine.
                                Technical Abstract: 	Eighty feral swine were trapped from a herd which had been documented to be seropositive for Brucella and which had been used for Brucella abortus RB51 vaccine trials on a 7,100 hectare tract of land in South Carolina.  The animals were euthanized and complete necropsies were performed.  Samples were taken for histopathology, Brucella culture, and Brucella serology.  Brucella was cultured from 62 (77.5%) animals.  Brucella suis was isolated from 55 animals (68.8%), and all isolates were biovar 1.  Brucella abortus was isolated from 28 animals (35.0%), and isolates included field strain biovar 1 (21 animals; 26.3%), vaccine strain Brucella abortus S19 (8 animals, 10.0%), and vaccine strain Brucella abortus RB51 (6 animals, 7.5%).  Males were significantly more likely to be culture positive than females (92.9% vs. 60.6%).  Thirty-nine animals (48.8%) were seropositive.  Males also had a significantly higher seropositivity rate than females (61.9% vs. 34.2%).  The relative sensitivity rates were significantly higher for the standard tube test (44.6%) and fluorescence polarization assay (42.6%) than the card agglutination test (13.1%).  Lesions consistent with Brucella infection were commonly found in the animals surveyed and included inflammatory lesions of the lymph nodes, liver, kidney, and male reproductive organs which ranged from lymphoplasmacytic to pyogranulomatous with necrosis.  This is the first report of an apparent enzootic Brucella abortus infection in a feral swine herd suggesting that feral swine may serve as a reservoir of infection for Brucella abortus as well as Brucella suis for domestic livestock.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov