Brucellosis found in bison cow on Ted Turner ranch

[November 02, 2010]  HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- State officials in Montana say the bacterial disease brucellosis (brew-suh-LOW'-sis) has been found in a domestic bison herd on Ted Turner's Flying D Ranch near Bozeman.

The Montana Department of Livestock says the disease was found in a cow and is suspected in two other bison.

Agency spokesman Steve Merritt said Monday the cow has been killed and the other two have been quarantined pending test results.

Merritt says the herd is separate from 86 Yellowstone National Park bison Turner took in last year, and those bison are disease-free.

An investigation is under way to determine the infection's origin. Brucellosis can cause pregnant bison, cattle and elk to abort their fetuses.

The last reported infection in Montana was in a cattle herd in 2008.

Turner Enterprises Inc. general manager Russ Miller says the infection shouldn't substantially affect the ranch's operations.

[Associated Press]

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