Some white-tailed deer in Staten Island (New York) were infected with the Omicron variant of Covid. The New York Times reports that it is the first time that the variant has been reported in wild animals. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that white-tailed deer are easily infected with the virus, and it is likely that such findings intensify concerns that these animals, widely distributed in the United States and often close to humans, can become a potential source of new variants.
Researchers previously reported that Covid had spread to Iowa deer in late 2020 and in parts of Ohio in early 2021. US Department of Agriculture confirmed infections in deer in 13 other states - Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia - as explained Lyndsay Cole, spokesman for the agency's health inspection service, specifying that the animals were infected with previous variants of the virus.
Research suggests that deer become infected with humans and then spread the virus to other deer, but there is no evidence that they pass it on to people. However, the widespread and long-term circulation of Covid in deer would give the virus more opportunities to mutate, with a potential source of new variants that they could spread to people or other animal species. 'The circulation of the virus in deer offers opportunities to adapt and evolve,' said Vivek Kapur, a veterinary microbiologist at Penn State University, who is part of the Staten Island research team (The print).