Page 4/The Battalion/Monday, March 21,1988
j
A&M researcher studies disease
causing abortions in cattle, bison
By Kathy Crawford
Reporter
Yellowstone National Park has a
major problem with buffalo infected
with brucellosis, a disease that causes
abortions in cattle and bison, an
A&M researcher says.
Dr. Donald Davis, associate re
search scientist with the department
of veterinary pathology and the
Texas Agricultural Experiment Sta
tion (TAES), has been studying bru
cellosis for three years.
The buffalo in Yellowstone mi
grate into Montana, Wyoming and
Idaho.
Those states are free of the dis
ease and do not want their cattle to
be infected with brucellosis, Davis
says.
“There’s about 3,000 buffalo in
Yellowstone,” he says. “They’ve
known since the early 1900s that up
to half of those buffalo are infected
with brucellosis.”
But there is no way to keep the bi
son from migrating out of the park
because of problems with building a
fence.
“You can’t build a fence because
of the combination of snow and buf
falo,” Davis says. “They (buffalo) can
wait until the snow blows up on it
(the fence) and walk over it or they
can walk through it anyway.
“Our fences are made out of 3-
inch drill stem and you can’t afford
to build a fence like that around
Yellowstone. They don’t want to
anyway.”
Davis says the disease in bison will
not affect the agricultural commu
nity of Bryan-College Station much
because of the number of buffalo in
Texas.
“There’s not that many bison in
Texas,” Davis says. “There’s only a
couple of large producers. But the
meat is becoming more popular and
that can affect us. They’re selling a
lot of it all over the country.
“That’s why the USD A is getting
interested in it. If they (buffalo)
weren’t being shipped across state
lines, then the USDA wouldn’t care.
But now they’re being moved
around like crazy.”
The brucellosis research is funded
through USDA and APHIS (Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Serv
ice), which has a contract with
TAES.
Davis says $600,000 has been put
into the program since it began
three years ago.
In the first experiment, diagnostic
techniques were being studied by the
researchers.
Researchers found three or four
tests that would diagnose the disease
if used in conjunction with one an
other, Davis says.
“You wouldn’t want to just bet on
one test,” Davis says. “In cattle they
just use one with maybe two supple
mental tests. In buffalo, you want to
use three or four tests.”
Research also was done to find out
if brucellosis could be transmitted
from infected buffalo to susceptible
cattle.
The studies concluded that the
disease was transmitted from buffalo
to cattle as easily as from cattle to
cattle.
“They are also interested in the
pathogenicity of the disease or how
it operates in buffalo,” Davis says.
“We found it does the same as it does
in cattle. The mechanisms are the
same and it causes abortions.”
On the current phase of the re
search, Davis is working to find a
vaccination.
He says there have been some
problems with the dosage of the vac
cine.
“We’ve already found with the
adult bovine that the adult dosage is
too much,” Davis says. “It caused 60
percent of them to abort from the
vaccine, not the disease.”
Distinguishing between an in
fected buffalo and a vaccinated one
also has been a problem.
“We’ve had buffalo that have been
infected as long as 90 or 100 days
and their tests are negative,” Davis
says. “That means you would diag
nose them as not being infected and
we know they are.
“What’s happening is they’re test
ing buffalo and they come out neg
ative and thay may or may not be
(negative). They’ve (buffalo) been
getting shipped all over the United
States, which is a hazard to the live
stock industry and people because
they may or may not oe really clean.”
Davis says it looks as if the vaccina
tion will offer protection from the
disease.
However, he says, it is protective
at the high level of dosage and re
searchers are not sure what will hap
pen when the dose is reduced.
“In adults, we’ll probably have to
drop it (dosage) down and see if we
can get rid of these other problems
and (have) it remain protective,” Da
vis says. “You may give them enough
of the vaccine now to where they
don’t abort, but they may not be pro
tected against getting the disease.”
Davis says the USDA probably will
issue some changes in snipping reg
ulations when the research is con
cluded.
“We’re doing it for them,” Davis
says. “I’m sure when they get our re
sults in, they’ll look at the regula
tions and change them.”
Dispute causes
Navarro College
to lose president
CORSICANA (AP) — The presi
dent of Navarro College is re
signing partly because of a con
troversy surrounding courses for
nursing home residents, says the
chairman of Navarro’s board of
trustees.
“That’s just one aspect (of his
decision),” said Chairman Leigh
ton Dawson. “I would not say that
was a determining factor.”
Kenneth Walker, 52, will be
come president of Oklahoma City
Community College on June 13.
He will be the sixth president of
the Oklahoma City school since it
opened in 1971.
Navarro College and Walker
have been under scrutiny since
questions arose in August about
courses for nursing home resi
dents.
The state auditor’s office be
gan an investigation after rela
tives said nursing home residents
were being recruited for courses
to bolster enrollment figures and
make the college eligible for more
state funds.
An attorney told college trust
ees that Navarro could be asked
to repay up to $ 1.3 million if state
officials determine the courses
did not comply with state requitf
ments.
A committee establishedbvilj
board of trustees comprised;
Walker and trustees Oliverii
britton and Charles Reynold
submitted a preliminary respot
to the auditor, but have not mad
public the contents of then
spouse.
Officials of the state auditoi
office and college officials hi
not said when a final repot
would be released.
Albritton said he is biuerat#.
the circumstances under wkio
Walker is leaving. But Albrii
said Walker will serve the Ott
homa institution well.
“I rejoice for Ken becausek
done a good job and he does:
deserve the criticism,” Albrittn
said.
John Williams, the chairmais
the board of regents of the Ob
homa City school, says Waite
will bring a proven recordofil
complishment as a college
dent to the institution.
Walker came to NavarroCoJ
lege in 1974, and enrollmentlil
almost doubled from 970 in 1931
to nearly 2,000 this year.
STUI
year.
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