Aoudad Could Spread Deadly Disease To Bighorn Populations
New university findings highlight potential implications for veterinary patients, animal health, and veterinary practice.
An invasive species found across West Texas may pose a greater threat to native bighorn sheep than previously understood.
In a new study published in Scientific Reports, Texas A&M University researchers in collaboration with veterinarians and biologists from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) found that 80% of bighorn sheep experimentally exposed to respiratory pathogens carried by aoudad died from pneumonia, providing new evidence that helps explain how disease-causing pathogens may persist in bighorn sheep habitat.
The findings also provide wildlife managers with new information to support conservation efforts.
“The experiment showed us the lethality of aoudad-bighorn contacts, that some aoudad may pose a greater risk than others, and that aoudad populations across the Trans-Pecos carry different strains at different rates,” said Dr.
Logan Thomas, an assistant professor at Kansas State University and the study’s lead author.
Respiratory disease remains one of the greatest challenges facing bighorn sheep conservation across North America.
Pneumonia outbreaks can cause widespread illness and mortality within herds, making it critical for researchers to understand how disease spreads and where pathogens persist between outbreaks.
Aoudad, also known as Barbary sheep, were introduced to Texas decades ago and have since established large populations throughout portions of the state.
In some regions, they share habitat with bighorn sheep, raising concerns that they may contribute to disease transmission.
To investigate those risks, researchers evaluated whether aoudad could maintain and transmit Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and leukotoxigenic Pasteurellaceae — two groups of pathogens associated with pneumonia in bighorn sheep.
“Wildlife managers have been concerned about the potential aoudad disease threat for our native species since the late 70s, but relatively little work had been done to characterize these risks,” Thomas said.
The report adds to ongoing university-led research relevant to veterinary medicine, animal health, and clinical decision-making.
Source university website: Texas A&M VMBS
https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/press-releases/aoudad-spread-disease-bighorn-sheep/
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