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1 October 2004 CONTRACEPTION OF BISON BY GnRH VACCINE: A POSSIBLE MEANS OF DECREASING TRANSMISSION OF BRUCELLOSIS IN BISON
Lowell A. Miller, Jack C. Rhyan, Mark Drew
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Preventing pregnancy in brucellosis-infected bison (Bison bison) provides a potential means of preventing transmission of disease. To determine whether a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine was effective in reducing pregnancy in bison and to study the safety of injecting GnRH in pregnant bison, a study was conducted at the Idaho Fish and Game Wildlife Health Laboratory in Caldwell, Idaho (USA). Four pregnant and two nonpregnant female bison were given a single injection of GnRH vaccine, and five pregnant adult females were given a sham injection that contained only adjuvant. Three of the GnRH-vaccinated bison that were pregnant at the time of vaccination delivered healthy calves. One treated bison had dystocia that resulted in a dead calf. All control bison delivered healthy calves. After calving, females of both groups were exposed to two bulls. Treated bison were palpated 6 wk after exposure to the bulls, and blood was drawn for pregnancy-specific protein B analysis. The six treated bison were not pregnant. The sham-treated bison became pregnant and delivered viable calves. This study demonstrates that a single dose of GnRH vaccine is effective in preventing pregnancy in female bison for at least 1 yr.

Miller, Rhyan, and Drew: CONTRACEPTION OF BISON BY GnRH VACCINE: A POSSIBLE MEANS OF DECREASING TRANSMISSION OF BRUCELLOSIS IN BISON
Lowell A. Miller, Jack C. Rhyan, and Mark Drew "CONTRACEPTION OF BISON BY GnRH VACCINE: A POSSIBLE MEANS OF DECREASING TRANSMISSION OF BRUCELLOSIS IN BISON," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 40(4), 725-730, (1 October 2004). https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-40.4.725
Received: 29 January 2004; Published: 1 October 2004
KEYWORDS
bison
GnRH vaccine
gonadotropin-releasing hormone
immunocontraception
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