COVID Fight Moves to the Wild
2022-04-01
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1Researchers around the world are trying to find out how much and where COVID-19 is spreading in the wild.
2For researcher Todd Kautz and his team that means giving COVID tests to animals like bears, moose, deer and wolves.
3They are doing their research on a Native American reservation in the north woods of Grand Portage, Minnesota, close to Canada.
4Scientists are concerned that the virus could change within animal populations.
5That could possibly create dangerous new viral mutations that could jump back to humans and spread among people.
6The pandemic has shown that the health of humans and animals is closely related.
7Exactly how the virus started has never been proven.
8But many scientists say it likely jumped from bats to humans.
9It could also have jumped to humans directly or through another animal that was being sold live in Wuhan, China.
10Now the virus has been confirmed in wildlife in 24 states in the United States, including Minnesota.
11Recently, a Canadian study showed someone in nearby Ontario likely got a highly mutated form of the virus from a deer.
12"If the virus can establish itself in a wild animal reservoir, it will always be out there with the threat to spill back into the human population," said Matthew Aliota.
13He is a researcher with the University of Minnesota working with the Grand Portage Reservation team.
14E.J. Isaac is a fish and wildlife scientist.
15He said the risk of the virus mutating grows with the start of spring,
16when bears wake from hibernation and deer and wolves move to different areas.
17He said more movement among animals increases the chance of transmission.
18The team's research carries its own set of risks.
19Sometimes they must capture animals from the air, using a helicopter.
20They target animals like deer and moose from the air with a net gun.
21Researchers then test the animal's nose for COVID, and put a tracking device on it.
22Another time, Kautz had to enter a bear's den while it was hibernating in order to test it.
23After testing the bear, Kautz sent the samples to a lab.
24He hopes to learn not just which animals are getting infected, but also whether certain animals are more likely to spread the virus to other species.
25Close contact between humans and animals has permitted the virus to defeat barriers to spread between species.
26To infect any living thing, the virus must get into its cells, which is not always easy.
27Virus expert David O'Connor compares the process to opening a "lock" with the virus' spike protein "key."
28"Different species have different-looking locks, and some of those locks" are not going to be openable by the key, the University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist said.
29But other locks are similar enough for the virus to enter an animal's cells and make copies of itself.
30As it does, it can mutate and still have a key that fits in the human lock.
31That permits it to go back to humans through close contact with live animals, scientists believe.
32It is rare for a virus to spread from animals to humans.
33But it only takes one person to bring a mutated virus to the world of humans.
34Some scientists think the Omicron variant of the coronavirus came from an animal rather than a human.
35What scientists are mostly concerned about is variants spreading widely within a species that comes in contact with humans, like deer.
36Scientists found the coronavirus in a third of deer tested in Iowa between September 2020 and January 2021.
37Other studies found virus antibodies in a third of deer tested in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania.
38I'm Dan Novak.
1Researchers around the world are trying to find out how much and where COVID-19 is spreading in the wild. 2For researcher Todd Kautz and his team that means giving COVID tests to animals like bears, moose, deer and wolves. They are doing their research on a Native American reservation in the north woods of Grand Portage, Minnesota, close to Canada. 3Scientists are concerned that the virus could change within animal populations. That could possibly create dangerous new viral mutations that could jump back to humans and spread among people. 4The pandemic has shown that the health of humans and animals is closely related. Exactly how the virus started has never been proven. But many scientists say it likely jumped from bats to humans. It could also have jumped to humans directly or through another animal that was being sold live in Wuhan, China. 5Now the virus has been confirmed in wildlife in 24 states in the United States, including Minnesota. Recently, a Canadian study showed someone in nearby Ontario likely got a highly mutated form of the virus from a deer. 6"If the virus can establish itself in a wild animal reservoir, it will always be out there with the threat to spill back into the human population," said Matthew Aliota. He is a researcher with the University of Minnesota working with the Grand Portage Reservation team. 7E.J. Isaac is a fish and wildlife scientist. He said the risk of the virus mutating grows with the start of spring, when bears wake from hibernation and deer and wolves move to different areas. He said more movement among animals increases the chance of transmission. 8Into the wild 9The team's research carries its own set of risks. 10Sometimes they must capture animals from the air, using a helicopter. They target animals like deer and moose from the air with a net gun. Researchers then test the animal's nose for COVID, and put a tracking device on it. 11Another time, Kautz had to enter a bear's den while it was hibernating in order to test it. 12After testing the bear, Kautz sent the samples to a lab. He hopes to learn not just which animals are getting infected, but also whether certain animals are more likely to spread the virus to other species. 13Looking for mutants 14Close contact between humans and animals has permitted the virus to defeat barriers to spread between species. 15To infect any living thing, the virus must get into its cells, which is not always easy. Virus expert David O'Connor compares the process to opening a "lock" with the virus' spike protein "key." 16"Different species have different-looking locks, and some of those locks" are not going to be openable by the key, the University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist said. 17But other locks are similar enough for the virus to enter an animal's cells and make copies of itself. As it does, it can mutate and still have a key that fits in the human lock. That permits it to go back to humans through close contact with live animals, scientists believe. 18It is rare for a virus to spread from animals to humans. But it only takes one person to bring a mutated virus to the world of humans. Some scientists think the Omicron variant of the coronavirus came from an animal rather than a human. 19What scientists are mostly concerned about is variants spreading widely within a species that comes in contact with humans, like deer. 20Scientists found the coronavirus in a third of deer tested in Iowa between September 2020 and January 2021. Other studies found virus antibodies in a third of deer tested in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. 21I'm Dan Novak. 22Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from The Associated Press. 23__________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25mutation - n. a change in the genes of a plant or animal that causes physical characteristics that are different from what is normal 26reservoir - n. an extra supply of something 27hibernation - n. to spend the winter sleeping or resting 28transmission - n. the act or process by which something is spread or passed from one person or thing to another 29track - v. to follow and try to find (an animal) by looking for its tracks and other signs that show where it has gone 30den - n. the home of some kinds of wild animals 31spike protein - n. part of the virus that attaches to human cells 32species- n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 33antibody- n. a substance produced by the body to fight disease