Threatened by Annihilation Again
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| The American Bison, or buffalo, is threatened again by annihilation. This time in the 21st century by a bacterial pathogen called Mycoplasma bovis. |
In 2013, a free-roaming South Dakota bison herd on the Cheyenne Indian Reservation was found to be infected by a crippling disease, later diagnosed to be a frequent contributor to polymicrobial respiratory disease in cattle,
has recently emerged as a major health problem in North American bison.
In studies of the pathogen done in 2017, seven head of bison and six of cattle were exposed intranasally (a route in which drugs are administered through the nose) to M. bovis and examined after death 4–6 weeks later. Blood and nasal swabs were collected before exposure and at death. Samples of lung, lymph node, liver and spleen were also collected at death.
The data provided the first direct evidence that M. bovis can be a sole or primary cause of respiratory disease in healthy bison, although the isolates used were unable to cause disease in healthy cattle.
Unless a vaccination can be developed, the American bison may be wiped out again.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378113518302906
https://www.southdakotamagazine.com/the-man-who-saved-the-buffalo
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