The study found that 40% of white-tailed deer in the Eastern United States have new crown antibodies, indicating that they have been infected with the new crown virus. (Photo/Free Gallery Pixabay)
In the past 10 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIS) has taken blood samples from more than 600 wild white-tailed deer in Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York to track infections in animal populations. Unexpectedly, APHIS unexpectedly found that more than 40% of white-tailed deer in this year's blood samples actually had new crown antibodies.
Comprehensive foreign media reports, APHIS sampled 385 white-tailed deer from January to March this year, and found new crown antibodies in 40% of the blood samples of white-tailed deer, and in the blood samples of white-tailed deer in 2020 and 2019, there were also 3 and 1 deer with antibodies, but the blood samples from 2011 to 2018 did not see any trace of new crown antibodies. It is reported that the deer herds with antibodies in the blood have not developed symptoms of infection.
Research data show that 40% of white-tailed deer have antibodies to the new crown in 2021, but only 3 and 1 white-tailed deer in 2020 and 2019 have antibodies. (Photo: APHIS paper)
The researchers pointed out that deer herds with antibodies to their blood may have been exposed to the new crown virus very early, but they have repelled the new crown pneumonia. However, the probability of deer herds having antibodies varies from place to place, and from the data point of view, Michigan has the largest number of deer with antibodies in all states, with 67% of wild white-tailed deer having COVID-19 antibodies, while Illinois's 7% is the least of the 4 states.
This is the second time in the world that a wild animal has been infected with the new crown virus since the outbreak of a large-scale infection of Canadian mink in November last year. Researchers don't know exactly how deer were initially exposed to the virus, but APHIS analysis shows that there are several possible routes of transmission of the virus, so researchers can't rule out the possibility that deer herds will be exposed to contaminated water sources or infected with COVID-19 patients after contact.
The USDA pointed out that there is currently no evidence that humans will be infected with the new crown virus when eating infected meat, but experts are worried that if wild animals are infected, the virus may appear in them and re-infect humans, resulting in a weakened vaccine potency, so U.S. officials called on relevant units to strengthen monitoring of wild animals, and hunters should also wear masks when handling wild animals to avoid being infected by the virus.
Source: Los Angeles Chinese News
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