A new study that has not yet been peer-reviewed recently found that white-tailed deer on Staten Island are infected with the new COVID-19 variant.
A Silive.com report said that white-tailed deer on the said area have tested positive for the new COVID-19 strain, contributing to the growing body of studies that show "widespread virus spillover from humans to deer populations."
This research published in the preprint server bioxRiv revealed that 19 out of 131 deer sampled on Staten Island from December 12, 2021 to January 31, 2022 tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, verifying exposure to the coronavirus variant. This marks the first time the strain has been detected in wild animals.
As indicated in the study, the finding highlights an urgent necessity for comprehensive surveillance of vulnerable animal species to determine ecological transmission networks and better examine the potential risks of spillback to humans.
Deer as Spreaders of COVID-19 to Humans
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, COVID-19 antibodies have been recorded and reported in various states which include nearby Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
In summer 2021, researchers said one-third of white-tailed deer sampled particularly in Iowa had COVID-19 antibodies, a separate report from silive.com specified.
At present, there is no evidence that animals, which include deer are spreaders of COVID-19 to humans. However, scientists have observed that continued transmission of the virus among populations of animals could give it more opportunities for mutation.
A report from New York City released in 2021 approximated that the deer population of Staten Island was roughly 1,555, even though there have long been doubts about the preciseness of the deer counts.
68 Deer Tested Through Nasal Swabs
Among the deer tested in the research, one of them was found to have a high level of neutralizing antibodies, proposing the probability that it had been formerly infected although the study investigators expressed warning in such an assertion.
Out of 68 deer tested through nasal swabs, seven were discovered to have the COVID-19 Omicron strain that was spreading across the city at a record year in late 2021.
Sequences of the Omicron variant observed in the deer population were quite similar to the Omicron sequences taken from infected individuals in New York City, the new study specified.
The New York Times reported that the new research was carried out by the city Parks Department, Penn State University, and the White Buffalo conservation nonprofit, among others. The researchers explained that such sequencing showed that Omicron is "circulating among the white-tailed deer on Staten Island."
It was not directly clear how humans were transmitting the COVID-19 virus to deer. Nevertheless, researchers previously speculated that hand-feeding the deer and other activities that engage close exposure could be the culprit. Therefore, officials have suggested that hunters and people residing in close vicinity to the animals should take the necessary precautions.
Related information about white-tailed deer being infected with COVID-19 is shown on PBS NewsHour's YouTube video below:
Check out more news and information on COVID-19 and Animals on Science Times.
