Immune responses and clinical effects of experimental challenge of elk with Brucella abortus strain 2308

Abstract

To assess the effects of challenge dose and stage of gestation on infection and abortion, 35 elk were conjunctivally challenged with virulent Brucella abortus strain 2308 (S2308) during pregnancy. Seventeen elk were experimentally challenged early in the second trimester of gestation (December) with high (approximately 108 CFU) or low challenge (approximately 107 CFU) treatments having 8 and 9 pregnant elk, respectively. Other pregnant elk were experimentally challenged at a later challenge time (approximately early third trimester, February), with high and low challenge treatments having 8 and 10 elk, respectively. Conjunctival swabs from all animals were culture positive for the S2308 strain at 7 days after experimental challenge. All animals seroconverted on a B. abortus ELISA but optical density readings were not influenced (P > 0.05) by time of challenge or by challenge dosage. In the early challenge group, abortions occurred in 2 of 9 (22%) in the low challenge treatment and 3 of 8 (37%) in the high challenge treatment, whereas in the later challenge group, 1 of 8 (12.5%) in the low challenge treatment and 2 of 10 (20%) in the high challenge treatment aborted. The ability to recover B. abortus from samples obtained at necropsy did not differ (P > 0.05) between early and late challenges or between high and low challenge treatments. Despite the lack of abortions observed after experimental challenge, recovery from maternal tissues ranged from 50% (low dose, late challenge) to 77% (low dose, early challenge). Our data suggests that naïve elk do not abort as frequently after experimental infection with B. abortus strain 2308 as compared to similar data in cattle and bison.