Scientists already know that rhesus monkeys, minks, ferrets and cats can become infected with coronavirus, and the infection
Now the authors of the new work have found outthat white-tailed deer can become infected with COVID-19. They decided to study the spread of coronavirus in the deer population and collected lymph samples from 283 representatives of the species that live in the forests and zoos of Iowa.
The coronavirus was in the tissues of about a third of the deer,which we studied in Iowa between September 2020 and January 2021. These infections have occurred as a result of multiple contacts with people, as well as with other sick animals.
Research text
Based on the results of a PCR test in the lymph nodesalmost 33% of deer found traces of a new type of coronavirus. Most of the contacts with the virus occurred between November 2020 and January 2021. The peak of the second wave of coronavirus in the United States fell on the same period of time.
The researchers also conducted a genetic analysissamples of SARS-CoV-2 to understand how the infection occurred. It turned out that deer partially transmitted the virus within the population, and partially began to get sick only after contact with humans.
Because of this, scientists fear that white-tailed deer could become one of the largest natural reservoirs of infection in the country—the virus can develop and mutate in their population.
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