[Nature] The virus can also be transmitted to white-tailed deer?

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Author: Tiffany Guide: While the new crown epidemic has brought disasters to the world, it has also promoted scientists to further study and research on this new virus.
Researchers started More and more expeditions, such as ocean expeditions, forest expeditions, and safari expeditions, are all for in-depth research on the source and transmission characteristics of the new crown virus from all aspects, so as to develop more proven drugs and more effective Treatment methods
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Recently, researchers in the United States have discovered that a relatively special animal carries the new crown virus, which may be transmitted to humans.
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The white-tailed deer (scientific name: Odocoileus virginianus) has its tail cocked while running, and the bottom of its tail is white.
And got the name
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The name is named because the tail is raised when running, and the bottom of the tail is white
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They often inhabit tundra, forest areas, deserts, shrubs and swamps.
They are typical herbivores.
They eat grass, bark, twigs and saplings, and are good at swimming
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This deer is one of the most widely distributed deer in the world, from the forests of eastern Canada, to the forests of the eastern United States, the Florida Peninsula, Mexico, Central American countries, and northern Peru
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Just recently, scientists launched an investigation into them
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Recently, when scientists were studying the new coronavirus, they discovered that one-third of the white-tailed deer in the northeastern United States have antibodies that can resist the new coronavirus.
This shows that this type of deer has been infected with the virus before
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This discovery was published in an article titled "The coronavirus is rife in common US deer" in "Journal": Arinjay Banerjee, a virologist from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, explained: We At the initial stage of the global spread of the new crown epidemic, samples were collected, and these samples were analyzed in detail.
We found antibodies to the new crown in the white-tailed deer samples
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This is the first time that a wide range of wild animals have been in such close contact with the new coronavirus
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On July 29, these results were publicly reported on bioRxiv
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Researchers said that a large number of animals are exposed to the virus like this, and they are quickly infected with the virus.
This situation is worrying, but they will do more research and related experiments to evaluate whether deer will be active in the wild.
Sometimes the same species infect each other or spread the virus to other species
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Aaron Irving, an infectious disease researcher at Zhejiang University in Haining, China, said: “Scientists still need to be cautious when doing these follow-up studies and interpreting these studies accordingly
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” Another virologist, from Ohio State University Worcester Linda Saif said: "The key question of our research is'how does the virus spread to deer".
We need to figure out the path of the virus; in addition, we should also figure out whether the virus will spread from the infected deer.
Spread to other wild animals or domestic animals, such as cattle
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"This white-tailed deer is abundant in North America, especially near urban centers in the eastern United States
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Previous experiments have shown that they will be infected with the new coronavirus and spread the virus to other deer
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In the wild, these deer generally live in groups, which means that the virus can easily spread naturally between them
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Therefore, researchers are worried about the emergence of new virus "hosts", that is, animal populations that carry the new coronavirus
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A group of infected animals living together provides a good "refuge" for the new coronavirus, so the virus can wander, evolve, spread, and mutate wantonly in it, thereby reducing or losing the vaccines that have been developed.
The protective effect on humans
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This is terrible.
It not only helps the virus spread to other species, it may even spread to humans when the global epidemic gradually weakens
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Saif recorded the leapfrog spread of other coronaviruses between species
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She said: "The spread of this virus has spread from human-to-human transmission to the spread of wild animals.
This kind of "spreading effect" or "spillover effect" may really exist all over the world
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In order to make a correct assessment of the risk of this raging spread of the virus, Susan Shriner of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Collins, Colorado, and her colleagues collected 385 blood samples and tested them.
The amazing thing is , 40% of the samples contained COVID-19 antibodies, which were produced in response to viral infections
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All deer surveyed showed no signs of illness
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Researchers discovered this when the epidemic began to spread in the United States in early 2020 .
Three of these samples contained COVID-19 antibodies
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In general, one-third of the samples in 2020 and 2021 contained virus antibodies
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A U.
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Department of Agriculture spokesperson said: " These antibody-containing samples have a high percentage of all samples.
In addition, white-tailed deer are distributed in many states in the United States.
They are very large and have close contact with humans.
We infer that white-tailed deer in other states of the United States have also been in contact with humans.
Infected with a virus
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"The data strongly suggests that the deer were infected with the new coronavirus at a certain point in time, but the researchers did not perform viral RNA tests on the animals.
This test is needed to determine whether they are the virus hosts
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The
real mystery to be solved It is how the deer was infected by the new coronavirus, which may be through contact with people, other animals, or even contaminated wastewater
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If the source of how the deer came into contact with the virus can be found, then this source is also possible and likely The performance is applicable to other animals
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Finding the source is very important from now on, because this can inhibit the spread of the virus on a chain, and it can also prevent the virus from infecting humans from the deer again
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Reference: https:// /articles/d41586-021-02110-8 Note: This article aims to introduce medical research progress and cannot be used as a reference for treatment plans
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If you need health guidance, please go to a regular hospital
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