One study showed that many white-tailed deer in the United States are infected with the new crown virus
London, August 6 (Xinhua) -- A news report published on the website of the British magazine "Nature" recently said that researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture conducted a new coronavirus antibody analysis study on the serum samples of some white-tailed deer in the northeast of the United States and found that one-third of the white-tailed deer sampled had new coronavirus-related antibodies in their bodies, which indicated that they had been infected with the new crown virus.
The researchers published the study online in preprint on July 29. The study was not peer-reviewed.
Researchers reportedly tested 385 white-tailed deer blood samples collected in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York from January to March 2021 and found that 40% of the samples were able to detect antibodies related to the new crown virus, but the deer surveyed had no signs of disease.
The researchers found that 3 of the samples collected in early 2020 detected relevant antibodies, and 1 of the samples collected in 2019 detected relevant antibodies. Taken in 2020 and 2021 samples combined, the proportion of white-tailed deer serum samples detecting covid-19-related antibodies in the northeast of the United States is one-third.
According to reports, previous experiments have shown that white-tailed deer can be infected with the new crown virus, and the virus can be transmitted in deer herds. A USDA spokesperson said that from the test results of the sample and the presence of a large number of white-tailed deer in the United States and their contact with people, white-tailed deer in other states may also be infected with the new crown virus.
Arinjie Benaghir, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, said that the research data showed that white-tailed deer were infected with the new crown virus at some point in time, but the researchers did not detect the virus ribonucleic acid of these animals, so it is not clear whether they are animal hosts of the virus.
One big question now is how these white-tailed deer were infected, the report said. Banagi said that if these white-tailed deer all had the same source of infection, then other animals might also be exposed to this source of infection.
Source: Xinhua Net
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