Deer could be reservoir of old coronavirus variants

Subject : Science and technology

Section :Health

Concept :

The alpha and gamma variants of the coronavirus continued to circulate and evolve in white-tailed deer, even after they stopped spreading widely among people, a new study suggests.
For the new study, Diel and his colleagues analysed about 5,500 tissue samples collected from deer killed by hunters in New York state.
Genetic sequencing revealed that three variants of concern — alpha, gamma and delta — were all present in deer during the 2021 season.

Link between deer and coronavirus

Previous studies of deer have suggested humans have repeatedly introduced the coronavirus into white-tailed deer populations in the United States and Canada and that deer can spread the virus to one another.
Scientists are not sure how people are passing the virus to deer, but they have speculated that it might happen when people feed deer or deer encounter human trash or waste.
Also,thescale of the risk that infected deer pose to humans remains unclear.
Scientists speculate that there is high risk of transmission when there is regular contact between the infected animal and the humans.

What can happen if the virus circulates in these animals?

The longer the virus circulates in these animals and infects a larger number of individuals, the more likely it is to evolve and potentially lead to the emergence of a completely new variant resistant to the current vaccines.

White-tailed deer

The white-tailed deer is scientifically called as Odocoileus virginianus. It is also called as whitetail or Virginia deer.
The deer is a medium-sized and is native to North America, Ecuador, Central America, Peru, South America, and Bolivia.
It has also been introduced to New Zealand, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Hispaniola as well as some countries in Europe like Finland, Czech Republic, Romania, France, Germany, and Serbia.
IUCN Classification :Least Concern