ABSTRACT A 2013 outbreak of respiratory disease in bighorn sheep from California's Mojave Desert metapopulation caused high mortality in at least one population. Subsequent PCR and strain-typing indicate widespread infection of a single strain of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae throughout this region. Serosurvey of archived samples showed that some populations have had antibodies to M. ovipneumoniae since at least 1986, although pre-2013 strain-type data are unavailable.

ABSTRACT Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) were collected from 44 desert bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis ) and 10 mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) in southern California, US during health inspections in 2015–16. Specimens were identified and screened by PCR analysis to determine the presence and prevalence of Bartonella , Borrelia , and Rickettsia species in ticks associated with these wild ruminants. None of the 60 Dermacentor hunteri and 15 Dermacentor albipictus ticks tested yielded positive PCR results. Additional tick specimens should be collected and tested to determine the prevalence of these confirmed or suspected tickborne pathogens within ruminant populations.