Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research logoLink to Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research
. 1995 Oct;59(4):256–264.

Investigation, control and epizootiology of anthrax in a geographically isolated, free-roaming bison population in northern Canada.

C C Gates 1, B T Elkin 1, D C Dragon 1
PMCID: PMC1263779  PMID: 8548686

Abstract

In July 1993 anthrax caused significant mortality in an isolated, free-ranging population of bison (Bos bison athabascae) west of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. There was no previous record of anthrax in this area. An emergency response was undertaken to reduce the scale of environmental contamination and dissemination of anthrax spores and hence to reduce the likelihood of future outbreaks. One-hundred-and-seventy-two bison, 3 moose (Alces alces), and 3 black bear (Ursus americanus) carcasses were found. Visual detection of carcasses was enhanced with the use of an airborne, remote infrared sensing camera mounted externally on a helicopter. Fifty-five percent of the carcasses were located in forested or shrub-covered sites where detection would not have been likely without the thermal imaging equipment. Carcasses were disposed of by incineration and the sites were decontaminated with formaldehyde. Application of formaldehyde to carcasses prevented scavenging. The outbreak occurred after a prolonged period of drying between April and mid-July 1993 which followed several successive years of flooding of bison habitat. The "spore concentration hypothesis" provides the most conservative explanation for the occurrence of anthrax under the observed conditions.

Full text

PDF
256

Images in this article

257Fig. 1.
on p.257
259Fig. 2.
on p.259

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bakken L. R. Separation and purification of bacteria from soil. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 Jun;49(6):1482–1487. doi: 10.1128/aem.49.6.1482-1487.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Broughton E. Northwest Territories. Anthrax in bison in Wood Buffalo National Park. Can Vet J. 1992 Feb;33(2):134–135. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. COUSINEAU J. G., MCCLEANAGHAN R. J. ANTHRAX IN BISON IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES. Can Vet J. 1965 Jan;6(1):22–24. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dragon D. C., Rennie R. P. The ecology of anthrax spores: tough but not invincible. Can Vet J. 1995 May;36(5):295–301. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gainer R. S., Saunders J. R. Aspects of the epidemiology of anthrax in Wood Buffalo National Park and environs. Can Vet J. 1989 Dec;30(12):953–956. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hugh-Jones M. E., Hussaini S. N. An anthrax outbreak in Berkshire. Vet Rec. 1974 Mar 16;94(11):228–232. doi: 10.1136/vr.94.11.228. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. KLEMM D. M., KLEMM W. R. A history of anthrax. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1959 Nov 1;135:458–462. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kamat A. S., Lewis N. F., Pradhan D. S. Mechanism of Ca2+ and dipicolinic acid requirement for L-alanine induced germination of Bacillus cereus BIS-59 spores. Microbios. 1985;44(177):33–44. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Knisely R. F. Selective medium for Bacillus anthracis. J Bacteriol. 1966 Sep;92(3):784–786. doi: 10.21236/ad0479102. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Macdonald D. W., Rawluk S. R., Gannon V. P. Alberta. Anthrax in cattle. Can Vet J. 1992 Feb;33(2):135–135. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Manchee R. J., Broster M. G., Melling J., Henstridge R. M., Stagg A. J. Bacillus anthracis on Gruinard Island. Nature. 1981 Nov 19;294(5838):254–255. doi: 10.1038/294254a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. PYPER J. F., WILLOUGHBY L. AN ANTHRAX OUTBREAK AFFECTING MAN AND BUFFALO IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES. Med Serv J Can. 1964 Jun;20:531–540. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Pienaar U. D. Epidemiology of anthrax in wild animals and the control of anthrax epizootics in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Fed Proc. 1967 Sep;26(5):1496–1502. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Stastná J., Vinter V. Spores of microorganisms. 23. Interdependence of intra- and extra-cellular levels of calcium: its effect on the germination of bacterial spores in different media. Folia Microbiol (Praha) 1970;15(2):103–110. doi: 10.1007/BF02880091. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Turell M. J., Knudson G. B. Mechanical transmission of Bacillus anthracis by stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) and mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes taeniorhynchus). Infect Immun. 1987 Aug;55(8):1859–1861. doi: 10.1128/iai.55.8.1859-1861.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Van Ness G. B. Ecology of anthrax. Science. 1971 Jun 25;172(3990):1303–1307. doi: 10.1126/science.172.3990.1303. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research are provided here courtesy of Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

RESOURCES