Researchers don’t yet know whether deer can pass SARS-CoV-2 back to humans
4 NOV 2021
FISHHAWK/FLICKR/CC BY 2.0
About 80% of Iowa deer tested between late November 2020 and early January were infected with the pandemic coronavirus, The New York Times reports. Scientists tested lymph node tissue samples from 283 wild and captive white-tailed deer across the state for coronavirus RNA between April 2020 and January. The first sign of infection appeared on 28 September 2020, and by December about 80% of samples were positive. The deer picked up mutations and variants in similar patterns to humans across the state, suggesting humans passed infections to deer multiple times. Researchers speculate deer might be catching the virus from humans who feed them in their yard, or by licking chewing tobacco left by infected hunters. The rapid rise in the prevalence of infections indicates that the deer are also spreading SARS-CoV-2 to one another, scientists write in a study posted on the biological sciences preprint repository bioRxiv. Researchers aren’t yet sure whether deer can pass the virus back to humans, or whether other wild animals are also transmitting the virus.
About 80% of Iowa deer tested between late November 2020 and early January were infected with the pandemic coronavirus, The New York Times reports. Scientists tested lymph node tissue samples from 283 wild and captive white-tailed deer across the state for coronavirus RNA between April 2020 and January. The first sign of infection appeared on 28 September 2020, and by December about 80% of samples were positive. The deer picked up mutations and variants in similar patterns to humans across the state, suggesting humans passed infections to deer multiple times. Researchers speculate deer might be catching the virus from humans who feed them in their yard, or by licking chewing tobacco left by infected hunters. The rapid rise in the prevalence of infections indicates that the deer are also spreading SARS-CoV-2 to one another, scientists write in a study posted on the biological sciences preprint repository bioRxiv. Researchers aren’t yet sure whether deer can pass the virus back to humans, or whether other wild animals are also transmitting the virus.
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