Digital Desk: The highly transmissible Omicron version of the coronavirus has been discovered in white-tailed deer on Staten Island, marking the first time the variant has been detected in wild animals.
The findings add to a growing body of data that the virus is easily transmitted to white-tailed deer. In addition, the findings are likely to heighten fears that deer, which are widely distributed across the United States and live in close proximity to humans, could serve as a virus reservoir and a source of new strains.
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According to researchers, the virus was reported to be widespread in deer in Iowa in late 2020 and areas of Ohio in early 2021.
According to Lyndsay Cole, a spokesperson for the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, infections in deer have been confirmed in 13 more states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. Those animals had been infected with earlier viral strains.
According to research, there is no proof that deer are receiving the virus from humans and then spreading it to other deer. However, widespread deer virus circulation would allow the virus to change in the long run, potentially resulting in novel versions that may infect humans or other animals.
The researchers also discovered that one white tailed deer afflicted with Omicron had a high level of antibodies to the virus, indicating that it had been infected earlier. In humans, Omicron has been shown to be able to escape various immune system defences. Animals affected during previous outbreaks may be prone to reinfection if the virus is equally immune-evasive in deer.
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