Science Panel Reviewing Livestock Disease in Yellowstone

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A national science panel is conducting a broad review of a livestock disease that's afflicted large numbers of elk and bison in the Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

The panel is convening at Montana State University in Bozeman for two days beginning Wednesday to gather information about brucellosis, which can cause pregnant animals to abort their young. Study director Peggy Yih with the National Academy of Sciences says future meeting will explore the impact of brucellosis in Wyoming and Idaho.

The disease was brought to the region in infected livestock and has since been largely eradicated in the U.S. It persists in wildlife in and around Yellowstone National Park. The 10-member panel is expected to deliver a report on its findings next June to federal agriculture officials.