Uh OH: Bambi has Covid

 SciTechDailyNews reports:

New research from the US has shown that white-tailed deer are being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. Antibodies were found in 40% of deer that were tested from January to March 2021 across Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York state. A second unpublished study has detected the virus in 80% of deer sampled in Iowa between November 2020 and January 2021. Such high levels of infection led the researchers to conclude that deer are actively transmitting the virus to one another.

Several questions come to mind and are asked but not answered in the article: How was it spread? Could it spread via water? Did hunters spread it to the deer ? Or was it spread via urine/feces (which could come from hunters)? 

There have been reports of covid in house cats and in lions and tigers in several zoos... some rare Siberian tigers in one zoo. 

these cases seem to be human animal transmission, from human owners, but hunters rarely get that close to deer.

Since all of these studies are 9 months old, does that mean the deer have herd immunity and are not infectious? Or are they developing new strains to spread to each other and are still infectious? Could humans eating their meat get infected?

This last one is important.

Deer hunting, like sports, is almost a religion in some areas: We closed our schools (and many businesses closed) for the first day of deer season in our rural Pennsylvania town. For locals it was a sport, reminding them of their ancestors who relied on hunting to live, and of course, for many families, it was a source of meat: something that helps in this area of poverty and high unemployment since the mines have closed down and many miners are too sick from black lung or other problems to work.

Deer ticks spread disease, but since usually the deer is hung outside until it is butchered, and it is cold, this risk should be minimal.

Cooking will eliminate many of the other bacterial pathogens.

The big worry is the deer variant of mad cow disease in deer, aka Chronic Wasting disease. LINK

and care needed in butchering for the meat LINK

I suspect covid threat might make the city fellows hesitate, but locals will still hunt: not just because they are anti vax, but because they have a culture where they accept risk as part of life.

In a previous post, I mentioned an article on culture in Star Trek: And I didn't clarify the article, which was saying that whereas in the newer StarTreks, everyone is diverse but thinks the same, in the original StarTrek, different people from different cultures thought and acted differently, had different priorities, and had a different view of sickness and risk.

Same here. Like the Philippine culture (or Arab culture), a lot of things depend on God's will, so don't worry too much about it. The problem of course is that God expects us to do our part to avoid danger and disease (which is why the Bible and the books of Islam have so many laws on food and hygiene). But it recognizes that some things are not under our control.

One of my worries is that the west seems to think they are in control: And indeed, both covid and "climate change" are now being used to make more laws to affect people's behavior. And the new covid variants and the failure of the vaccines to provide 100 percent protection are causing existential angst among those who felt they are in control of everything: So instead of becoming humble, they are pushing back harder.

I mean, I am reading that some people won't allow unvaccinated people to visit them for the holidays. This is nonsense, of course. But it echoes the western idea that we are in control, and the health is the highest good. So punish the infidel and excommunicate those who refuse to obey.

But in the Philippines, family ties and obligations are more important than a tiny risk of infection.

So in the Philippines, it means if you are sick and test positive, you go into quarantine, wear a mask, and of course keep your distance. 

But family is family. Family ties and obligations to family and friends is more important than rules. 

And to us, all those articles by the PC saying you should punish/ignore/refuse to have family members to dinners if they are anti vax seems crazy, especially given the small risk of infection and the small risk of death if you catch the disease.

So yes, if Granny has leukemia or other reasons for a bad immune system, the masks etc. are important. And if you are unvaxed and want to visit her, then get a test to see if you are infectious before you visit. Big deal. Our drivers had these tests over and over again so they could deliver rice to Manila before the vaccine was no available, so what is the problem?

But whining you hate relatives for being paranoid or dumb here shows something very selfish and wrong with the culture of US elites.