COVID-19 spotted in Texas deer | Health Info

By Cara Murez, Health Day reporter

THURSDAY, December 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Researchers have confirmed that some white-tailed deer in Texas have COVID-19.

the new study suggests that deer should not be overlooked as a possible source of SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans as well as domestic and wild animals, the researchers say. They are still trying to learn how COVID is spread between humans and animals.

“The one thing we know best about SARS-CoV-2 is its unpredictability,” said study author Douglas Watts, professor of biological sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso.

“Therefore, transmission of the virus from infected deer to humans, although unlikely, may be possible,” he said in a university press release.

Watts and his colleagues studied blood samples taken from deer of different ages in Travis County, Texas during the first two months of 2021.

More than a third of the samples showed evidence of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

They found a significant prevalence in deer aged 1.5 years. The researchers said this indicates that the disease is rampant in one of the most abundant wildlife species, especially in humans.

The antibody prevalence of 37% observed in this study is similar to the 40% reported in deer in other states.

The results raise many questions about the infection and transmission of the virus in wild and domestic animals, according to lead author Pedro Palermo, laboratory director of the Biosafety Level 3 Infectious Disease Research Program at the Research Center. biomedical research unit of the UTEP.

SOURCE: University of Texas at El Paso, press release, December 23, 2021

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