Deer harbor out-of-circulation SARS-CoV-2 strains, study finds umn.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from umn.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
White-tailed deer – the most abundant large mammal in North America – are harboring SARS-CoV-2 variants that once widely circulated but are no longer found in humans.
The mutations suggest the virus has adapted to deer, possibly making it more transmissible between them, the study said. More study is needed to confirm whether these variants will disappear in deer over time or whether there is risk of SARS-CoV-2 spreading to other wildlife, including predators, the study said. COVID-19 Variants of Concern, Obsolete in Humans, Found in White-Tailed Deer in US: Study.
"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."