Media Releases and Opportunities
» Go to news mainMedia opportunity: Dalhousie, Canadian researchers detect first potential case of deer‑to‑human transmission of SARS‑CoV‑2
A team of researchers from Dalhousie University and other Canadian organizations has discovered what could be the first link between a case of COVID-19 in deer and humans, suggesting in a new paper that the virus can be transmitted from wildlife to people.
Finlay Maguire, a data scientist and assistant professor in Dal's Faculty of Computer Science and the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, participated in the national research project that has been monitoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in animals.
The paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed and is published on the online preprint server bioRxiv, explains that while there is evidence of spillover of the COVID-19 virus from humans to white-tailed deer, there had not yet been any clear finding of such transmission from deer to people.
The multidisciplinary team identified a new and highly divergent lineage of SARS-CoV-2 that has 76 mutations, including 37 previously associated with animal hosts. Analysis revealed an epidemiologically linked human case from the same region of southwestern Ontario during the same sampling period.
Dr. Maguire is available to discuss the significant findings and concerns that SARS-CoV-2 viruses can undergo extensive evolution within animal populations and then transmit back to humans. -30-
Media contact:
Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca
Recent News
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University researchers find migrant workers in Nova Scotia face discrimination, overcrowded housing and wage theft, but also receive support from their home countries in addressing mistreatment
- Media opportunity: Fowl language: Dalhousie University researcher uses AI to crack the code of clucks and unravel chicken chatter secrets, opening the door to an improved quality of life
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University researchers go underwater to address an otherworldly issue ‑‑ how to treat pain in space
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie legal scholar wins Killam Fellowship for ground‑breaking research into the handling of sexual assault claims
- Media release: Dalhousie receives $5M from Canadian Foundation for Innovation to build country’s first university‑based battery prototyping and fabrication facility
- Dalhousie University and Eastward Energy welcome Premier Tim Houston in celebrating the launch of the Hydrogen Applications Research Lab
- Media opportunity: How are the world's reef sharks doing and what can be done to save them? Researchers will revisit marine protected areas in 26 nations to check their numbers and help design new conservation sites
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University program will support Canadian physicians, residents and medical students with daily messages aimed at reducing stress, depression and burnout
Comments
comments powered by Disqus