Pathogens in Big Horn Sheep

The Nevada Department of Wildlife has confirmed that the same strain of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, the pathogen that led to a pneumonia outbreak in the River Mountain herd of desert bighorn sheep in August 2013, has been found in bighorn sheep herds living in the Eldorado, McCullough and Spring Mountain ranges.

While this information alone was bad news for state wildlife biologists, test results also confirmed that a second strain of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae is also present in the Spring Mountain sheep herd. The same strain that led to a deadly pneumonia outbreak among bighorn sheep in the Old Dad and Marble Mountain ranges of California. That outbreak has led to the death of bighorn sheep in those California ranges since it began in spring 2013.

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