The first case of deer-to-human transmission has been found. Does that mean another COVID-19 variant is coming?
Researchers studying SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer in Ontario, Canada, recently discovered the animals likely passed the infection on to a human.
Six percent of deer were infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the time of the study and they carried a highly mutated and previously undetected lineage of the virus. That same new lineage was detected in a person who was in close contact with the deer at the same time and in the same region, according to a paper published Feb. 25. It is highly likely the virus was passed from the deer to that person, say the study’s authors and Canada's National Microbiology Lab.
Mutations of the virus in animals, combined with the evolutionary pressure as it jumps to humans, increase the likelihood of another variant emerging that could spread more easily or cause more severe disease, Guthrie says. The virus that had been found in the deer was highly distinguished from the original lineage, with 49 mutations.
Better understanding of coronavirus transmission between humans and animals is needed, say Baral and Guthrie, who cautioned against an overreaction to the finding. "Unless you have really good information to know exactly where to target, I think you are probably going to have little impact,” Guthrie says.