New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Scientists have found SARS-CoV-2 spreads like any other virus among white-tailed deer and other wild animals in the United States, CNN reported.
People are the likely source, but that doesn't mean the virus can't evolve among these animals and then spill back into humans, and researchers are worried about what this spread means for the risk of future pandemics, the report said.
There's little doubt SARS-Cov-2, the virus that caused the ongoing pandemic, came from an animal -- almost certainly a bat. And the prevailing scientific opinion is that there is an intermediate host, an animal of some sort, that was infected by a bat or bats and then infected people, the report added.
It's also clear that people can infect animals. Pets such as cats, zoo animals such as gorillas and snow leopards and farmed mink can all be infected. Multiple cases have been reported, and evidence of changes in the viruses infecting mink have led to mass culls of those animals on fur farms, the report added.
The latest species to capture the attention of wildlife biologists are white-tailed deer. It's little surprise that farmed deer would catch the virus from people. Any visitor to a deer farm knows the animals behave like goats, shoving their wet noses into the pockets, hands and faces of human visitors or caregivers as they clamor for food and treats -- and setting themselves up for infection.
"If somebody might bite an apple and throw it or even if I sneeze in a tissue and drop it," speculated Dr Suresh Kuchipudi of the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, who helped lead one study published earlier this month that found a third of deer they tested across Iowa between September of 2020 and January of 2021 showed evidence of infection.
Sewage has been found to carry the virus, so polluted water might be a source, he added, or people spitting or contaminating the environment in other ways. The deer may then spread the virus to one another, the report added.
A Dubai court heard that an Indian man based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) murdered his girlfriend and then drove around the city for 45 minutes with her body in the front seat, even stopping to pick up a meal, before turning himself in to police.
Sharjah Police on Friday were on the lookout for three Indian men who attacked and robbed their employer of 4 kg of gold biscuits, before catching a flight to Mumbai within an hour of the incident, a media report said.
SAANICH, B.C. - The British Columbia government has reviewed and approved a bylaw proposed by the District of Saanich that will allow the Victoria-area suburb to eliminate single-use plastic grocery bags.
WASHINGTON - Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders each auditioned Thursday for the role of President of the United States, striking starkly different tones as they delivered their respective versions of the speech they believe Donald Trump should have given the virus-stricken nation from the Oval Office.
