Variant of coronavirus discovered in deers in Canada

One study revealed the discovery of an Omicron-like variant in a group of white-tailed deer in Ontario, Canada. Although it should be noted that the same strain was also obtained in a person from the area who had had contact with these animals.

It has not yet been verified about a contagion from deer to people or vice versa, however, J. Scott Weese, a professor at the University of Guelph (Canada) specialized in the study of infections that jump between animals and people states that previously it was seen how SARS-CoV-2 passed between people and animals, but stopped.

"I think it's a pretty significant study, because we're looking at the potential evolution of the virus in an animal reservoir," Weese said of this deer study, which he reviewed but was not involved in his research.

It should be noted that the researchers state that it is difficult to determine the evolution of this variant, since it went unnoticed for almost a year and without having been sampled.

They can only speculate so far that the virus jumped from people to deer and eventually back to at least one person.

It is noteworthy that the new branch of the SARS-CoV-2 family tree presents some 79 genetic changes, very different from the original strain found in Wuhan, China. 37 of those changes have been identified in animals, but 23 of them had not been seen in deer.

Mutation risk and future concern

Weese himself affirms that deer are suitable hosts for the coronavirus, since they do not get very sick, they nest in groups (ideal for contagion) and are very susceptible to infection.

"It doesn't matter if it's circulating in 100 million people in a fully vaccinated area of the world or if it's circulating in 10 million deer in North America. It's circulating, and because the virus circulates and replicates, that's how mutations occur." Weese added.

In the recent hunting season, hunters took the deer they killed so that scientists could take samples, and when they were analyzed, the presence of the virus in these animals could be observed.

But, although contagion between humans and deer cannot be guaranteed, the truth is that the omicron spread throughout the region and the hunting season ended.

The same results showed that this strain can be easily counteracted by antibodies from vaccination and, for this reason, it does not represent an immediate threat but, probably, in the future.

“If deer have become a true animal reservoir, it is a difficult problem to solve and it is a new phase in the pandemic. When SARS-CoV-2 shows up in a population of farm animals, such as mink, or hamsters sold in Hong Kong pet stores, they are often euthanized to contain the spread of the virus," Weese added.

In addition, he stated that this is not possible when the virus is in a population of wild animals.

It should be noted that there are animal vaccines, which are also applied with the same objective as for humans, that is, to prevent the disease and prevent the animal from dying, but the vaccines are not very effective in preventing transmission, he pointed out.

To all these, the author of the study, Bradley Pickering, who is also the head of special pathogens at the National Center for Foreign Animal Diseases in Canada, said:

"I think most people thought - and it's true - that humans are driving the pandemic. So now it seems that this is circulating in the wild, there is a risk that it is always there and that it can, at any moment, affect people again.”

In addition, Pickering adds that the researchers will reinforce surveillance in the deer population to control the evolution and spread of the virus, but it is also true that if it remains in North American deer, it can continue to circulate and change.