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So much for herd immunity. While it might seem like a double entendre, it's not... honestly. I'm not sure why this would be 'shocking' or even surprising if they wanted to continue with the notion that it came from an animal (bats) in the first place...
A coronavirus outbreak in Iowa deer is prompting scientists to worry if the animals could be a reservoir for the virus in the long term
Well no wonder they effectively closed off much of the hunting season in California by closing the National Forests. Clever ruse to do it under the auspices of 'wildfire danger.' That way, we'd never suspect it was for our own good and all, saving us the terror of catching it from animals. We should be thankful.
Of course, if we'd just go get our shots, then the boosters, we wouldn't have to worry about the possibility anyway... right? I mean, if the deer and other animals can harbor the virus, even a true vaccine would not be able to eradicate it, so we'll have to continue to get our boosters, just to be safe.
A coronavirus outbreak in Iowa deer is prompting scientists to worry if the animals could be a reservoir for the virus in the long term
A number of deer in the state of Iowa are carrying the coronavirus, according to a recent study, prompting scientists to worry the wild animals could potentially become a reservoir for the virus.
The study, which was published on the pre-print server Biorxiv on Monday, suggests that the deer caught the virus from humans. The study says there is no evidence at this time that they could pass it back...
The Iowa deer study, which has not been peer-reviewed, looked at 283 samples from free and captive white-tailed deer in the state from April 2020 through January 2021.
A third of the deer samples overall showed traces of the coronavirus, suggesting they had an active infection when they died. The peak of infection among the deer coincided with a surge of cases among Iowa's human residents in November and December 2020, the study found.
Further genetic analysis found that the animals carried strains of the coronavirus that were circulating in the human population at the time, which supports the hypothesis that the deer caught the virus from humans, then passed it from deer to deer.
It's not clear how the deer might have caught the virus from humans...
The concern when a disease-causing microbe is passed to humans from other animals — which is called zoonosis — is that it could circulate unchecked in animal populations.
In case of the COVID-19 coronavirus, this could eventually lead to a dangerous mutation.
Of course, in that case, a booster shot for humans could likely be developed, the Times reported...
Deer hunters in several states have been advised to be careful when interacting with white-tailed deer, the Times reported, although there is no evidence that you can catch COVID-19 from preparing and eating wild game meat, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
The study, which was published on the pre-print server Biorxiv on Monday, suggests that the deer caught the virus from humans. The study says there is no evidence at this time that they could pass it back...
The Iowa deer study, which has not been peer-reviewed, looked at 283 samples from free and captive white-tailed deer in the state from April 2020 through January 2021.
A third of the deer samples overall showed traces of the coronavirus, suggesting they had an active infection when they died. The peak of infection among the deer coincided with a surge of cases among Iowa's human residents in November and December 2020, the study found.
Further genetic analysis found that the animals carried strains of the coronavirus that were circulating in the human population at the time, which supports the hypothesis that the deer caught the virus from humans, then passed it from deer to deer.
It's not clear how the deer might have caught the virus from humans...
The concern when a disease-causing microbe is passed to humans from other animals — which is called zoonosis — is that it could circulate unchecked in animal populations.
In case of the COVID-19 coronavirus, this could eventually lead to a dangerous mutation.
Of course, in that case, a booster shot for humans could likely be developed, the Times reported...
Deer hunters in several states have been advised to be careful when interacting with white-tailed deer, the Times reported, although there is no evidence that you can catch COVID-19 from preparing and eating wild game meat, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
Of course, if we'd just go get our shots, then the boosters, we wouldn't have to worry about the possibility anyway... right? I mean, if the deer and other animals can harbor the virus, even a true vaccine would not be able to eradicate it, so we'll have to continue to get our boosters, just to be safe.
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