Iran Press/ Sci & Tech: Antibodies were found in 40% of deer that were tested from January to March 2021 across Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New York state. A second unpublished study has detected the virus in 80% of deer sampled in Iowa between November 2020 and January 2021.
Such high levels of infection led the researchers to conclude that deer are actively transmitting the virus to one another. The scientists also identified different SARS-CoV-2 variants, suggesting there have been many human-to-deer infections.
The large numbers of white-tailed deer in North America and the fact that they often live close to people provide several opportunities for the disease to move between the two species.
This can include wildlife management operations, field research, recreation, tourism, and hunting. In fact, hunters are likely to be one of the most obvious sources of potential reinfection as they regularly handle dead animals.
It has also been suggested that water sources contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 might provide a pathwy for transmission, although this has yet to be proved.
COVID-19 was first detected in China's Wuhan in late December and has since spread across the world. In late January, the World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency in light of the epidemic.
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