Recently, researchers from the United States Department of Agriculture discovered that one-third of the white-tailed deer in the northeastern United States have antibodies to the new coronavirus, indicating that they have been infected with the new coronavirus
According to a report by Nature, Arinjay Banerjee, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, said that the discovery was made by analyzing samples collected after the new crown pandemic.
The researchers said that this phenomenon is worrying, but more research is needed to assess whether the new crown virus will spread in the wild population of deer, or spread between species
Linda Saif, a virologist at Ohio State University, believes that the key question of the study is how the virus spreads to deer, and whether the virus will spread from infected deer to other wild animals or livestock such as cattle
White-tailed deer are common in North America, especially near urban centers in the eastern United States
Researchers worry about the emergence of new animal populations carrying the new crown virus.
To assess this risk, U.
The researchers also tested the blood samples of white-tailed deer archived in history and found that only three samples in early 2020 had antibodies to the new coronavirus.
Given the percentage of antibodies to the new coronavirus that can be detected in the study, as well as the widespread distribution of white-tailed deer in the United States and close contact with humans, the United States Department of Agriculture stated that white-tailed deer in other states in the United States are likely to have also been infected with the new coronavirus
"The data strongly suggests that the white-tailed deer was infected with the new coronavirus at a certain point in time
The researchers reminded that the results suggest that it is necessary to investigate and test the white-tailed deer and its predators, and other animals that have close contact with the white-tailed deer
Related paper information: https://doi.
This article is an English version of an article which is originally in the Chinese language on echemi.com and is provided for information purposes only.
This website makes no representation or warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness ownership or reliability of
the article or any translations thereof. If you have any concerns or complaints relating to the article, please send an email, providing a detailed
description of the concern or complaint, to
service@echemi.com. A staff member will contact you within 5 working days. Once verified, infringing content
will be removed immediately.
