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The white-tailed deer, the most abundant giant mammal in North America, has been found to harbor older variants of Covid that are no longer noticeable in human circulation. It is estimated that there are about 30 million white-tailed deer in the United States. The animals became inflamed with the pandemic coronavirus through continuous contact with humans, experts explained, likely through feeding wild animals, hunting, contact with water or sewage resources or wildlife rehabilitation.
Virologist and professor of the paper, Diego Diel, from Cornell University, said: “One of the most surprising findings of this study was the detection of the cocirculation of three fear variants, alpha, gamma and delta, in this population of wild animals. .
“A virus that emerged in humans in Asia, probably after an animal reservoir overflowed in humans [. . . ] has potentially discovered a new reservoir in North America. “
In their study, Professor Diel and his team analyzed some 5700 samples taken from white-tailed deer in New York City in the 2020-22 era.
They genomic sequences of Covid variants discovered in deer with sequences of the same variants in the human population of New York.
The research revealed that the viruses had mutated in the deer, a fact suggesting that the variants had been circulating among the animals for several months.
For example, at the time the alpha and gamma variants were first discovered in deer, there was no evidence that they were still circulating among humans in the region.
In fact, at that time, no variant had been detected in New York in 6 months.
Professor Diel said: “When we made series comparisons between viruses recovered from white-tailed deer with human series, we observed a number of mutations in the genome of the virus.
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Some of the viruses sequenced in the study, Professor Diel added, even had mutations in human sequences.
These mutations likely helped the virus adapt to deer, which could facilitate its transmission between animals.
The findings build on previous studies by Professor Diel and colleagues published last year, which found that, in five U. S. states, they were able to do so. In the US, Covid found in up to 40% of all white-tailed deer.
And the existing work, according to the team, is one of the most comprehensive studies to date on the prevalence, genetic diversity and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer.
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According to the researchers, more paints are to check if those variants will also disappear from deer over time, or if there is a threat of covid spreading to other wildlife, adding to the animal’s predators.
Professor Diel explained: “Due to the evidence received in our study, it is very important to continue monitoring the virus in those animal populations.
Only in this way, he added, can we “really perceive and track the adjustments that can have an effect on humans and other wildlife. “
The full effects of the were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.