Developing a Vaccine to Protect Bighorn Sheep from Pneumonia

The bighorn sheep population in North America has drastically declined from an estimated two million animals in the 19th century to fewer than 70,000 at the present time. Pneumonia caused by Mannheimia haemolytica is the primary cause of the decline. Bighorn sheep aquire M. haemolytica from domestic sheep grazing on public lands. Researchers will develop a vaccine that can be delivered through feed. This type of vaccine would help prevent bighorn sheep die-offs due to M. haemolytica-caused pneumonia, and its novel approach may also help in the development of vaccines for other wild and domestic animals. This Fellowship Training Grant will also help the fellow further his career in wildlife conservation.