Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials say the presence of the pathogen “Movi” (mycoplasma ovipneumoniae) may be widespread among the state’s wild sheep and goats, but that so far none of the animals that tested positive are sick.
Lab tests results have confirmed detection of Movi in Dall’s sheep in game management units 12, 13A, 20A, 25C, 26B and 26C, and in mountain goats in 15B, said Bruce Dale, ADF&G’s Division of Wildlife Conservation director. More blood samples are currently queued to be analyzed.
ADF&G is sharing their findings with Alaskans as they are received, he said.
The blood samples were taken during routine radio-collaring, to gather information for studies on the movement and survival of the wild sheep and goats, including a general health screening, Dale said.
Movi is considered to be a pathogen because it impairs the respiratory cilia (hairs) in the sheep and goats from clearing bacteria that enter their lungs normally with each breath. Movi has been associated with pneumonia outbreaks among Lower 48 bighorn sheep.
How and why this pathogen has been spreading is not yet know, Dale said.
There are over 100 known Mycoplasma species, including Movi, and evidence suggests that virulence- the ability to infect and cause disease- varies between these strains. Stressors including poor nutrition and extreme weather may figure in the ability of Movi to cause pneumonia. Meanwhile both domestic and wild sheep and goats may have the bacteria yet show no signs of illness.
Dale said the laboratory results are providing a starting point to gather more information about this pathogen, and there is a lot more to learn.
Surveillance samples from the wild sheep and goats have been collected throughout most of the mainland of Alaska for years. Due to recent findings, ADF&G now plans to intensify Movi surveillance efforts among Alaska wildlife, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Research Unit and the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Pullman, Wash.
