COVID-19: In US, Omicron variant detected in white-tailed deer, first among wild animals

The highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been discovered in white-tailed deer on Staten Island in the United States (US), marking the first time the variant has been detected in wild animals. The recent development adds to a growing body of data that the virus is easily transmitted to white-tailed deer. 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 COVID variants.

The coronavirus was earlier reported to be widespread in deer in Iowa in late 2020 and areas of Ohio in early 2021, according to researchers. 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: Illinois, Arkansas, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Virginia and Tennessee. However, these animals had been infected with the older variants of COVID.

Deer receiving virus from humans, transferring it to other deer

Deer are receiving the virus from humans and transferring it to other deer, according to a study done by Penn State researchers, but there is no evidence that the animals are transmitting it back to humans. However, in the long run, widespread deer virus circulation would offer the virus additional opportunities to change, potentially resulting in novel variants that may infect humans or other animals.

Penn State researchers collaborated with the conservation group White Buffalo, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and other institutions on the new study, which has yet to be published in a scholarly publication. White Buffalo has been collaborating with the city to capture local deer and sterilise some of the young males as part of a deer population-control research.

The researchers also discovered that one 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.

(With inputs from agencies, Image: Unsplash)