Scientists from the universities of Pennsylvania and Iowa have identified hundreds of white-tailed deer in the United States infected with the coronavirus. The result of their research has been published on the biorxiv portal. RIA Novosti reported.
According to experts, SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted to artiodactyls from humans. Then the virus began to spread rapidly among animals. From April 2020 to January 2021, scientists selected individuals for testing in Iowa and found that up to 80% of them were infected. However, biologists have not been able to pinpoint exactly how humans infected them.
“There is no reason to believe that the same is not happening in other states with deer,” said one of the authors of the work, Dr. Kapoor.
The results of the study alarmed experts who believe that the expansion of the virus among the most common species of animals in North America could make it even more difficult to eradicate the pathogen, especially if they turn into a reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 mutations. In this case, over time, it will become more virulent and learn to bypass current vaccines, scientists say.
