Review of the 2012 Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease Outbreak in Domestic Ruminants in the United States

• Published in: PloS one 2015-08, Vol.10 (8), p.e0133359-e0133359
• Main Authors: Stevens, G, McCluskey, B, King, A, O’Hearn, E, Mayr, G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Animal diseases; Animal Diseases - diagnosis; Animal Diseases - epidemiology; Animal Diseases - virology; Animals; Animals, Domestic - virology; Anorexia; Bison; Bovidae; Buffalo; Cattle; Ceratopogonidae; Communicable animal diseases; Culicoides; death; Deer; Diagnosis; Diagnostic systems; disease outbreaks; Disease Outbreaks - statistics & numerical data; Disease Outbreaks - veterinary; Elk; elks; Epidemiology; epizootic hemorrhagic disease; Fever; flocks; Foot & mouth disease; Geography; Health aspects; Hemorrhage; Hemorrhagic disease; Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, Epizootic - genetics; Hemorrhagic Disease Virus, Epizootic - physiology; herds; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Laboratories; Lesions; Livestock; Morbidity; Morbidity - trends; mortality; Odocoileus virginianus; Outbreaks; Polymerase chain reaction; Reoviridae Infections - diagnosis; Reoviridae Infections - epidemiology; Reoviridae Infections - veterinary; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Viral - genetics; Ruminants - virology; Sheep; summer; Time Factors; United States - epidemiology; Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine; Viruses; White-tailed deer; yaks
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133359

An unusually large number of cases of Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) were observed in United States cattle and white-tailed deer in the summer and fall of 2012. USDA APHIS Veterinary Services area offices were asked to report on foreign animal disease investigations and state diagnostic laboratory submissions which resulted in a diagnosis of EHD based on positive PCR results. EHD was reported in the following species: cattle (129 herds), captive white-tailed deer (65 herds), bison (8 herds), yak (6 herds), elk (1 herd), and sheep (1 flock). A majority of the cases in cattle and bison were found in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Iowa. The majority of cases in captive white-tailed deer were found in Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri. The most common clinical sign observed in the cattle and bison herds was oral lesions. The major observation in captive white-tailed deer herds was death. Average within-herd morbidity was 7% in cattle and bison herds, and 46% in captive white-tailed deer herds. The average within-herd mortality in captive white-tailed deer herds was 42%.