The Covid variants of concern – alpha, gamma and delta – that were once widely circulated but are no longer found in humans, have been found in white-tailed deer in North America. The scientist also cited that when they took samples from deer, they found that the variant had mutated indicating that it had been circulating among these animals for some time.
“One of the most striking findings of this study was the finding of co-circulation of three forms of anxiety — alpha, gamma and delta — in this wild animal population,” said Cornell Associate Professor Diego Dial.
How deer became infected, the study cited, during the pandemic, deer became infected with SARS-CoV-2 through ongoing contact with humans, possibly through hunting, wildlife resettlement, feeding wild animals or using wastewater or water. through sources.
“A virus that emerged in humans in Asia, most likely after a spillover event from an animal reservoir to humans, apparently, or potentially, has now been found to have a new wildlife reservoir in North America,” Dial said. .
The 5,700 samples used in the study were collected over two years in New York from 2020-22. It has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Noting that the variants are circulating among deer, the study states, “When we performed sequence comparisons between those viruses recovered from white-tailed deer with human sequences, we observed a significant number of mutations in the virus genome, Dial said. , adding that some viruses had up to 80 mutations compared to human sequences, providing further evidence that the virus had probably been circulating in deer for some time.”
The study said the mutation suggests the virus has adapted to deer, possibly making it more transmissible among them.
Further studies are needed to confirm whether these variants will disappear in deer over time or whether SARS-CoV-2 is at risk of spreading to other wildlife, including predators, the study said.
“Because of the evidence obtained in our study, it is very important to continue monitoring the virus in these animal populations to truly understand and track changes that may have spread back to humans and other wildlife.” ,” said Dial.
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