The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) announced on the 28th that it recently completed a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) antibody analysis study on the serum samples of free-range white-tailed deer, and the results showed that some white-tailed deer populations in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania had been exposed to the new crown virus.
Screenshot of the APHIS website
The serum samples were obtained by APHIS Wildlife Services in a field animal damage management exercise conducted in 32 counties in four states. At APHIS's National Wildlife Research Center and the National Veterinary Service Laboratory, the researchers analyzed the samples. Of the 481 samples collected between January 2020 and 2021, antibodies to covid-19 were detected. However, none of the deer in the deer herd surveyed showed only signs of clinical disease associated with the coronavirus.
Notably, the study was designed to determine how exposed deer are exposed to the coronavirus in their natural environment, not to determine whether deer are replicating and transmitting the virus.
Infographic
APHIS noted that studying the susceptibility of certain mammals, such as deer, to the new coronavirus can help identify species that may be reservoirs or intermediate hosts of the virus, and understand the source of the virus, predicting its impact on wildlife and the risk of cross-species transmission.
APHIS said in the statement that the discovery of white-tailed deer exposed to the new crown virus in the wild is not unexpected, because white-tailed deer are abundant in the United States and often have close contact with people, so they are susceptible to the virus. According to the CDC estimates, 114 million Americans have been exposed to the coronavirus.
White-tailed deer Infographic
APHIS is working closely with federal and state partners, including the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Fish and Wildlife Agencies Association, to determine next steps. The results of this study are currently being prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
(Editor: ZLQ)