'We don't want it circulating in the animal population;' Ont. deer test positive for COVID-19
For the first time in Ontario, COVID-19 has been discovered in wildlife.
In early January, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed five white-tailed deer in southwestern Ontario tested positive.
According to the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry (NDMNRF), samples were collected through the ministry's Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance program.
“The deer showed no evidence of clinical signs of illness and appeared healthy,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry.
Scott Weese, chief of infection control at the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph said, “We know it’s been found in Saskatchewan and Quebec, so it was just a matter of testing and time before we found it in Ontario.”
White-tailed deer are one of many animals in Canada and the U.S. that have contracted COVID-19, others include minks.
Though the chances of catching COVID-19 from an animal are low, Weese said with more transmission there's a greater chance new variants will form.
“What we don’t want is it circulating in the animal population. Because if it gets into deer and keeps spreading and spreading we can send it back, but then maybe we can get a different strain that is of relevance to us.”
It is not known how the recently discovered white-tailed deer in the province contracted the virus back in November, which is why Weese believes more research is needed.
For several months, Ontario’s Ministry of Health, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative have taken samples from animals to test for the virus.
“First we want to figure out - are we getting infections in animals and if so what types of infections are happening, is it just transient infections that animals are getting over or are they infections that are leading to disease,” said Brian Stevens, a wildlife pathologist with the cooperative.
Stevens says hundreds of animals have been tested through health agencies in Canada since the summer, but only a handful have come back positive.
In an email sent to CTV News London, a spokesperson for the NDMNRF said 213 deer samples were tested in 2021, while 936 samples were taken from raccoons, skunks, minks, white-tailed deer and other mammals in Ontario and Quebec in 2020 for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
To this date, COVID-19 was not found in any of the 2020 samples collected in Ontario.
“Research and monitoring is ongoing to determine if and how many wildlife species are contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” the statement said.
The NDMNRF is currently working with multiple government agencies to conduct COVID-19 surveillance of certain wildlife in Ontario and Quebec, according to the ministry.
Since wildlife isn’t often in close contact with people, Weese believes the risk could be low for humans, while hunters, on the other hand, are more at-risk.
According to Weese, deer do not present with symptoms when they are sick, which is why it can be difficult to know if they’ve contracted COVID-19.
“All we know right now is that we can infect deer,” Weese said. “Does it stay in the deer population and can that come back to us or can they infect other wildlife that might be of relevance to us? Those are the big unknowns.”
To halt the spread of COVID-19-symptomatic people are being advised by health agencies to avoid being in close contact with animals.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.