First it was humans who gave the COVID-19 virus to wild animals such as deer. .Now new research suggests virus variants may be passing back to humans and even other animal species as it mutates in what could be a potentially new source of infection..A peer reviewed Ohio State University paper published in Nature Communications suggests the virus mutates three times faster in deer populations than it does in humans and resides in the wild for as long as six to nine months, compared to just days or weeks in people..Deer don’t actually get sick the way humans do; which is why they can carry it much longer. But it also increases the likelihood of transmission, not just among animals but potentially back to people..Genomic analysis showed at least 30 infections in deer had been introduced by humans — a figure that reportedly “surprised” the research team because it suggests the prevalence of the virus is much more common than believed, among both urban and rural animals..And it also raises the real possibility it’s a two-way street as far as transmission goes. .“The question is, is the virus changing in the deer population away from what we had in the human population?” said Andrew Bowman, associate professor of veterinary preventive medicine. .“I’m not as concerned if we have a deer-to-human transmission event occurring today. It’s more concerning if the virus is continuing to evolve away from what is circulating in humans now and five, 10, or 20 years down the line, so it can come back in and cause disease. Are we setting up a new reservoir species so eventually human immunity will not be protective against whatever is circulating in deer?”.It follows similar research done in both the US and Canada — including McGill and the University of Toronto looking into the prevalence of COVID-19 in wild deer populations. .In July, the US department of Agriculture found the active virus in 12% of white tail populations and antibodies in 32% of all animals sampled. .“Deer regularly interact with humans and are commonly found in human environments — near our homes, pets, wastewater and trash,” said Dr. Henry Wan, University of Missouri professor and director of the NextGen Center for Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases..“The potential for SARS-CoV-2, or any zoonotic disease, to persist and evolve in wildlife populations can pose unique public health risks.”.The results would seem to reinforce the conventional narrative that the virus’ origins trace back to a live animal market in China. What’s less clear is the relationship between the transmission to humans and vice versa..Indeed, so-called ‘crossover’ infections from influenza in ducks and swine — even Mad Cow disease — are well documented..“Having that animal host in play creates things we need to watch out for,” UoO’s Bowman said..“If this trajectory continues for years and we have a virus that becomes deer-adapted, then does that become the pathway into other animal hosts, wildlife or domestic? We just don’t know.”
