Deer infected with omicron have been found in New York City, the first time the highly transmissible variant has been detected in wildlife, a new study finds.
Although there has not yet been any evidence that the virus can spread from animals to humans, the findings -- from Pennsylvania State University, the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and conservation group White Buffalo -- raise concerns that deer could become a reservoir of the virus or lead to new mutations.
"We've seen from various studies … that deer are sometimes naturally infected from exposure to people," Dr. J. Scott Weese, a professor at Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph in Canada, who was not involved in the study, told ABC News."We've seen different strains and the strains that are found in deer reflect what is going on in people at the time."
Dr. Samantha Wisley, a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Services, who was also not involved in the study, said wastewater is another potential path of transmission."The theory that I find most plausible is that we know that at least elements of the virus are shed in wastewater," she told ABC News."So, people are either urinating or defecating out the virus.
"Right now, your biggest chance of exposure [to COVID], even if you encounter deer, is still going to be from a person," Weese said."But as we get less person-to-person transmission over time, if it's still in animals, then animals become more of a relative risk." MORE: Doctors warn ending school mask mandates will lead to rise in COVID cases as several states lift requirements
"Are they maintaining older lineage viruses or just becoming infected with the 'flavor of the month' of what variants are current in humans," Dr. Andrew Bowman, an associate professor in the department of veterinary preventive medicine at The Ohio State University, told ABC News.
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