Very interesting presentation. Dr. Fox is doing some fantastic work strain typing some of the respiratory diseases affecting sheep that allows her to be able to identify not only how they spread geographically, but also the specific combinations that are more likely to be lethal. All of the deadliest combinations point towards domestic sheep being the source. She was right to point out that hobby flocks are often just as much as a danger as multi-thousand sheep flocks grazing public land. There is still work to be done, but the rapid advances in the field of microbiology right now are opening the door for more information to be gleaned from her research, and hopefully some improved management options in the future. Right now, CPW is running a pilot project to better understand what types of hunter samples could be most helpful from sheep, so that we can get even more robust data to support her work. The topic is depressing, but her work is excellent and I am hopeful it will lead to some positive outcomes down the road.
