% >>> WELCOME TO "NOON WEDNESDAY,"
% I'M MARISA WOJCIK, MULTIMEDIA
% JOURNALIST WITH "HERE & NOW" ON
% PBS WISCONSIN.
% TODAY'S DECEMBER 1st.
% SINCE THE DISCOVERY OF COVID-19
% AND WHITE-TAILED DEER, IT'S
% RAISED A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND
% HAS THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY ON
% ALERT.
% TONY GOLDBERG IS A PROFESSOR OF
% EPIDEMIOLOGY WITH THE UW SCHOOL
% OF VETERINARY MEDICINE AND JOINS
% US NOW TO EXPLAIN MORE, AND,
% PROFESSOR GOLDBERG, THANK YOU SO
% MUCH FOR JOINING US.
% >> YOU'RE WELCOME.
% GREAT TO BE HERE.
% >> SO YOU CHARACTERIZED THIS NEW
% EMERGENCE AS A GAME CHANGER.
% WHY?
% >> THIS FINDING OF SARS-COV-2 IN
% DEER IS POTENTIALLY A GAME
% CHANGER BECAUSE UP TO THAT
% POINT, WE REALLY DIDN'T THINK
% THAT THE VIRUS WAS GOING TO TAKE
% OFF IN OTHER ANIMAL SPECIES.
% WE KNEW IT COULD INFECT THEM.
% YOU MAY REMEMBER STORIES OF
% TIGERS, LIONS, AND GREAT APE IN
% ZOOS GETTING SICK, BUT THAT
% SEEMED TO BE SORT OF A DEAD END.
% THE GAME CHANGER PART OF THIS IS
% THAT IF A VIRUS GETS INTO A
% WILDLIFE SPECIES AND SPREADS AND
% PERPETUATES, AND, IMPORTANTLY,
% IF IT CAN GET BACK INTO HUMANS,
% WHICH WE DON'T KNOW IN THIS
% CASE, THEN IT IS VERY HARD TO
% CONTROL.
% WE HAVE OTHER EXAMPLES OF THIS
% LIKE WEST NILE VIRUS, FOR
% EXAMPLE, WHICH IS STILL
% CIRCULATING IN BIRDS AND
% MOSQUITOES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED
% STATES AND NORTH AMERICA
% ACTUALLY, BECAUSE WE'RE NOT
% GOING TO GET RID OF IT, YOU
% CAN'T CATCH ALL THE BIRDS AND
% BATS AND VACCINATE THEM OR KILL
% OFF ALL THE MOSQUITOES SO IF IT
% TURNS OUT DEER ARE A RESERVOIR
% FOR SARS-COV-2, MEANING THEY
% CATCH AND TRANSMIT TO PEOPLE,
% THAT MAKES THIS VIRUS EVEN MORE
% DIFFICULT THAN IT ALREADY IS.
% >> HELP US UNDERSTAND JUST HOW
% PREVALENT IT IS IN THE DEER
% POPULATION.
% IS IT A HIGHER RATE THAN HUMANS
% ARE INFECTED?
% >> IT IS A HIGHER RATE THAN
% HUMANS ARE INFECTED BASED ON
% LIMITED STUDIES WE'VE DONE SO%
FAR.
% THE STUDY THAT GOT ALL THE
% RECENT PRESS WAS ONE DONE IN
% IOWA IN WHICH THEY STUDIED
% CAPTIVE AND WILD DEER, AND ALL
% TOGETHER, ABOUT A THIRD OF DEER
% WERE POSITIVE FOR THE VIRUS, AND
% THAT'S PRETTY HIGH BECAUSE YOU
% CAN IMAGINE IF YOU WERE TO JUST
% WALK DOWN THE STREET AND
% RANDOMLY TEST PEOPLE IN A
% HEALTHY POPULATION, YOU WOULDN'T
% EXPECT THAT.
% YOU'D EXPECT MAYBE, YOU KNOW,
% BETWEEN 1% TO 5% OF PEOPLE ON
% ANY GIVEN DAY SO IT WAS
% SURPRISING, AND THE%INTERPRE
TATION THERE IS THAT,
% YOU KNOW, THE DEER ARE CLEARLY
% SPREADING IT TO EACH OTHER VERY
% QUICKLY.%>> DO WE KNOW HOW CO
VID-19 COULD
% HAVE GOTTEN FROM HUMANS INTO
% WILD DEER, AND DO WE KNOW HOW
% LONG IT'S ALREADY BEEN
% CIRCULATING?%>> THOSE ARE VER
Y GOOD
% QUESTIONS.
% WE DON'T KNOW HOW SARS-COV-2 GOT
% FROM PEOPLE INTO DEER, BUT WE
% HAVE IDEAS.
% THIS IS NOT UNPRECEDENTED.
% THAT'S THE WORD OF THE DAY WITH
% THE PANDEMIC, "UNPRECEDENTED."
% THIS ACTUALLY ISN'T.
% THERE'S BEEN A LONG HISTORY OF
% HUMANS GIVING DISEASES TO
% ANIMALS, INCLUDING RESPIRATORY
% VIRUSES.
% MY WORK FOCUSES ON CHIMPANZEES
% IN AFRICA, AND THEY OFTEN
% EXPERIENCE EPIDEMICS OF SEVERE
% RESPIRATORY DISEASES THAT IN
% ALMOST ALL CASES ARE TRACED BACK
% TO HUMANS.
% WE THINK THIS HAPPENS WHEN
% PEOPLE GO INTO THE FOREST AND
% DEPOSIT VIRUS ON OBJECTS IN THE
% FOREST SO IT IS PROBABLY NOT
% THAT WE'RE STANDING CLOSE TO A
% DEER HAVING A CONVERSATION AND
% SNEEZING ON EACH OTHER.
% IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT, YOU
% KNOW, MAYBE SOMEBODY IS SPITTING
% OR RUBBING THEIR FACE AND
% TOUCHING A BRANCH, AND A DEER
% COMES BY A LITTLE BIT LATER AND
% GETS INFECTED THAT WAY, SO THE
% INFECTIONS FROM HUMANS TO DEER
% ARE PRETTY LOW FREQUENCY AND
% UNLIKELY, BUT THERE'S ENOUGH
% DEER AND ENOUGH PEOPLE THAT
% THEY'LL HAPPEN.
% IN TERMS OF HOW LONG IT'S BEEN
% IN DEER, WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD
% IDEA OF THAT BECAUSE THE EARLY
% STUDIES OF ANTIBODY RESPONSES IN
% DEER WERE ABLE TO SHOW THAT DEER
% WERE NEGATIVE FOR THE VIRUS
% BEFORE 2020, BUT BECAME POSITIVE
% IN 2020 SO WE THINK THAT THE
% INFECTION OF DEER HAPPENED
% PRETTY MUCH AT THE SAME TIME AS
% WE SAW CORONAVIRUS SPREAD INTO
% PEOPLE, IN OTHER WORDS, EARLY TO
% MID-2020.
% >> WISCONSIN JUST WRAPPED UP ITS
% TEN-DAY GUN DEER HUNTING SEASON,
% AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
% SERVICES DID RECOMMEND MEASURES
% TO PREVENT POSSIBLE COVID
% EXPOSURE FROM HARVESTING A DEAD
% DEER.
% WAS THAT A REAL RISK, AND DO WE
% EVEN KNOW FOR SURE IF A DEER,
% DEAD OR ALIVE, CAN TRANSMIT THE
% VIRUS BACK TO HUMANS?
% >> WE DO NOT KNOW WHETHER A
% DEER, DEAD OR ALIVE, CAN
% TRANSMIT THE VIRUS BACK TO
% HUMANS.
% CLEARLY, THAT'S A HUGELY
% IMPORTANT QUESTION, AND WE ARE
% RACING, WE AS A SCIENTIFIC
% COMMUNITY, ARE RACING TO
% UNDERSTAND IF THAT CAN HAPPEN.
% THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
% SERVICES' RECOMMENDATIONS ARE
% BASED ON THE PRECAUTIONARY
% PRINCIPLE.
% WE DON'T KNOW THAT IT CAN
% HAPPEN, BUT WE DON'T KNOW IT
% CAN'T HAPPEN SO IN THAT STATE OF
% NOT KNOWING, THE BEST THING TO
% DO IS ISSUE GUIDELINES THAT ARE
% REASONABLE AND WOULD PREVENT
% TRANSMISSION OR LOWER RISK, IF
% IT WERE POSSIBLE.
% I HOPE IT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
% I HOPE THIS IS A DEER VIRUS NOW,
% BUT WE REALLY DON'T KNOW THAT,
% AND UNTIL WE DO KNOW THAT, IT
% WOULD PAY TO BE REALLY CAREFUL.
% >> AND SO HOW DO VARIANTS FACTOR
% IN TO THIS?
% ARE THE DEER CARRYING ANY
% VARIANTS THAT ARE CIRCULATING IN
% HUMANS, OR ARE THEY CARRYING
% SOMETHING THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THE
% DEER HERD AND MUTATIONS THAT
% HAVE DEVELOPED IN DEER?
% >> SO RIGHT NOW, THE DEER ARE
% CARRYING ONLY VARIANTS THAT HAVE
% BEEN FOUND IN PEOPLE, AS FAR AS
% WE KNOW, FOR THE VARIANTS
% SEQUENCED, SO THE REMARKABLE
% THING IS THAT THE SCIENTISTS WHO
% DID THIS WORK SEQUENCED THE
% ENTIRE GENOME OF THE SARS-COV-2
% VARIANTS THAT THEY FOUND IN THE
% DEER, AND EACH ONE OF THOSE
% VARIANTS WAS IDENTICAL TO A
% VARIANT CIRCULATING LOCALLY IN
% IOWA AT THE TIME WITH BASICALLY
% NO CHANGES, AND THE AMAZING
% THING IS THAT DEER HAD, I THINK,
% IT WAS 12 HUMAN VARIANTS IN
% THEM, WHICH MEANS IT WAS NOT
% JUST ONE UNLUCKY EVENT WHERE ONE
% SICK PERSON SNEEZED ON A DEER
% SOMEWHERE, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE IT
% IS HAPPENING MULTIPLE TIMES, SO
% RIGHT NOW, ALL WE'VE FOUND IN
% DEER ARE VARIANTS OF WE KNOW
% CIRCULATION IN PEOPLE.
% THAT BEING SAID, ONE OF THE BIG
% FEARS IS THAT WHAT WENT INTO
% DEER MIGHT NOT BE THE SAME AS
% WHAT COMES OUT OF DEER OR WHAT
% SUSTAINS ITSELF IN DEER BECAUSE,
% YOU KNOW, AS WE ALL KNOW NOW
% FROM -- NOW IT'S THE OMICRON
% VARIANT, BUT THIS CONSTANT
% CHANGING OF THE GUARD WITH
% SARS-COV-2 VARIANTS, THAT THIS
% VIRUS IS VERY PRONE TO EVOLVE,
% TO CHANGE, TO CHANGE ITS
% GENETIC, AND TO CHANGE ITS
% DISEASE-CAUSING ABILITIES, AND
% THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS TRYING TO
% MAKE A LIVING, AND IT IS TRYING
% TO EVADE IMMUNITY AND DO ALL THE
% NASTY THING VIRUSES DO.
% WHEN A VIRUS LIKE THIS FINDS
% ITSELF IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT,
% DEER, THE FEAR IS IT IS GOING TO
% EVOLVE IN A NEW DIRECTION, AND
% IF IT CAN BE TRANSMITTED OUT OF
% DEER, THEN THE WORST CASE
% SCENARIO IS THAT DEER ARE
% SPEWING OUT VARIANTS OF THE
% VIRUS THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN IN
% HUMANS, BUT THAT COULD POSE A
% PROBLEM FOR HUMANS.
% >> SO AS YOU ALREADY MENTIONED,
% WILD DEER HAVING COVID-19 ARE
% BEING CALLED "A RESERVOIR" FOR
% THE VIRUS.
% AS I UNDERSTAND IT, DEER ARE NOT
% GETTING SICK FROM COVID-19, BUT,
% AS YOU SAID, MORE VARIANTS COULD
% DEVELOP AND THEN POSSIBLY
% TRANSFER BACK TO HUMANS?
% HAVE WE SEEN THAT HAPPEN BEFORE?
% DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT COULD LOOK
% LIKE?
% >> YEAH.
% GOOD QUESTION.
% REAL QUICK.
% WE DON'T YET CALL DEER "A
% RESERVOIR" BECAUSE FOR THEM TO
% BE A RESERVOIR, IT WOULD HAVE TO
% BE THE CASE THEY TRANSMIT BACK
% TO HUMANS.
% ALL WE KNOW NOW IS THAT THE
% VIRUS IS IN DEER AND CIRCULATING
% IN DEER.%WE'RE KIND OF ONE ST
EP AWAY FROM
% A RESERVOIR, BUT, YES, THIS IDEA
% OF VIRUSES OR OTHER PATHOGENS
% EVOLVING NEW VARIANTS IN ANIMALS
% IS NOT NEW.
% THIS HAPPENED WITH WEST NILE
% VIRUS, WHICH I MENTIONED BEFORE.
% THE STRAIN THAT CAME TO THE
% UNITED STATES IN 1999 QUICKLY
% EVOLVED INTO SOMETHING DIFFERENT
% THAT ADAPTED TO NORTH AMERICAN
% MOSQUITOES AND BIRDS AND SAW
% SIMILAR THINGS WITH OTHER
% VECTOR-BORN DISEASES LIKE YELLOW
% FEVER, AND, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE
% DIFFERENT, BUT EBOLA VIRUS, FOR
% EXAMPLE, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE IT
% COMES FROM IN NATURE, BUT THERE
% SEEMS TO BE A PLETHORA OF
% STRAINS OF THE VIRUS THAT EMERGE
% INTO PEOPLE EVERY NOW AND THEN
% THAT ARE QUITE DIFFERENT FROM
% EACH OTHER, AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE
% IT IS THE RULE RATHER THAN THE
% EXCEPTION THAT WHEN WE HAVE
% VIRUSES IN WILDLIFE, THEY ARE
% GOING TO EVOLVE AND SURPRISE US.
% >> SO THERE IS A LIKELIHOOD THAT
% COVID-19 COULD BE PASSED BACK
% FROM DEER, BUT IT IS A LOW
% LIKELIHOOD AT THIS POINT.
% WILL THIS SURVEILLANCE THAT
% WE'RE DOING OF DEER NOW ALLOW US
% TO BE ABLE TO TRACK WHATEVER
% MUTATIONS MAY DEVELOP IN DEER%
THAT WE DON'T ALREADY SEE IN
% HUMANS AND THEN GET AN
% UNDERSTANDING OF IF IT IS GOING
% BACK TO HUMANS?
% HOW WILL WE KNOW IF IT'S GOING
% FROM DEER TO HUMANS?
% >> THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
% IT IS GOING TO BE TOUGH.
% IF SARS-COV-2 CAN BE TRANSMITTED
% DEER TO HUMANS AND IF A DEER
% WERE TO GIVE A PERSON A NORMAL
% HUMAN STRAIN OF THE VIRUS, WE
% COULDN'T TELL.
% IT WOULD LOOK JUST LIKE THE
% PERSON WAS INFECTED BY ANOTHER
% PERSON.
% SO SORT OF KILLER EVIDENCE WOULD
% BE IF THERE'S UNIQUE DEER STRAIN
% THAT EVOLVED, AND WE MONITORED
% DEER AND FOUND IT IN DEER AND
% SUDDENLY WE START TO FIND IT IN
% PEOPLE.
% THAT WOULD BE -- LET'S HOPE THAT
% DOESN'T HAPPEN, BUT THAT WOULD
% BE A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF ALARM
% BELLS.
% >> SO WHEN VARIANTS WERE
% DETECTED IN MINK FARM LAST YEAR,
% THERE WAS A HUGE CONCERN,
% MILLIONS OF MINK KILLED TO
% PREVENT FURTHER OUTBREAKS, AND
% THEY WERE IN FARMS, NOT WILD.
% HOW DO DEER COMPARE?
% THEY ARE VERY -- IT SEEMS --
% VERY SIMILAR, BUT ALSO VERY
% DIFFERENT.%>> YEAH, THEY ARE
SIMILAR AND
% DIFFERENT.%THEY ARE SIMILAR I
N THAT THEY
% ARE A NORTH AMERICAN WILDLIFE
% SPECIES THAT JUST BY BAD LUCK
% GOT INFECTED BY THIS VIRUS.
% THEY ARE DIFFERENT IN THAT DEER
% DON'T APPEAR TO GET VERY SICK.
% MINK GET SICK.
% IF YOU SHAMING WITH SARS-COV-2,
% IT WOULD BE A VERY UNHAPPY MINK.
% YOU ARE RIGHT THAT MINK GOT THE
% VIRUS AND SPREAD QUICKLY BECAUSE
% THEY ARE IN HIGH DENSITIES IN
% MINK FARMS SO THAT'S WHY THE
% MINKS WERE DESTROYED BECAUSE IT
% WAS CLEAR THAT THEY WERE
% TRANSMITTING THE VIRUS AND THERE
% WAS A REAL RISK OF TRANSMISSION
% BACK TO PEOPLE.
% WE DON'T KNOW THAT YET FOR DEER.
% WE THINK DEER DON'T GET VERY
% SICK.%AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT
% EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE TELLS US,
% BUT WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN
% THE WILD.%>> SO DOES THAT ME
AN THE MINK
% BEING DESTROYED, THAT SOLVED
% THAT PROBLEM, AND ANY
% TRANSMISSION OR POSSIBLE
% TRANSMISSION OF VARIANTS BACK TO
% HUMANS IS NO LONGER A CONCERN?
% >> I THINK THAT'S RIGHT.
% THE, YOU KNOW, IT IS A DRASTIC
% MEASURE THAT WE IN THE
% VETERINARY MEDICAL COMMUNITY,
% YOU KNOW, TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY
% AND, YOU KNOW, IT IS A LAST
% DITCH THING, BUT WE CAN
% DEPOPULATE HERDS OR, YOU KNOW,
% DESTROY ENTIRE POPULATIONS OF
% FARM ANIMALS IF THE PUBLIC
% HEALTH RISK IS HIGH ENOUGH, AND
% SO WITHOUT THE MINK, THE
% PROBABILITY OF, YOU KNOW, MINK
% TRANSMITTING TO PEOPLE IS NOT
% THERE, SO, YES, WE DID, AND
% THERE ARE MINK VACCINES UNDER
% DEVELOPMENT, I UNDERSTAND, AND%
SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE'LL BE
% ABLE TO SAFELY FARMING AGAIN.
% THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, WE
% CAN'T AND WOULD NOT WANT TO, YOU
% KNOW, TAKE A SIMILAR APPROACH TO
% OUR WILD DEER HERD BECAUSE DEER
% IN WISCONSIN AND THROUGHOUT THE
% UNITED STATES ARE PRETTY
% IMPORTANT TO OUR CULTURE AND OUR
% NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS SO OUR TOOL
% KIT IS VERY LIMITED.
% >> SO WHAT'S IN THE TOOL KIT?
% HOW IS IT MANAGEABLE?
% IT'S NOT LIKE YOU SAID WE CAN
% MASS VACCINATE DEER OR
% EXTERMINATE THEM.
% WHAT CAN WE DO?
% >> THERE'S ACTUALLY A LOT WE CAN
% DO, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE
% NOT TO GIVE UP, NOT TO THROW UP
% THEIR HANDS AND SAY, WELL, IT'S
% IN DEER, THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN%
DO.
% THAT'S REALLY NOT THE CASE.
% THE KEY IS CAREFUL
% EVIDENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT.
% SO, OKAY, IT'S IN DEER, WHERE IS
% IT IN DEER?
% HOW CAN WE PREVENT THIS FROM
% SPREADING TO NEW AREAS?
% HOW CAN WE MANAGE THE DEER HERD
% IN AN INTELLIGENT WAY TO LIMIT
% TRANSMISSION BETWEEN DEER
% PERHAPS TO, YOU KNOW, TO -- IF
% THERE ARE VARIANTS THAT EMERGE
% TO KEEP THEM IN PLACE.
% THIS WOULD REQUIRE SOME CREATIVE
% NEW RULES ABOUT HARVESTING DEER,
% THAT MAY OR MAY NOT FLY WITH THE
% PUBLIC.%I THINK THAT MANY OF
US REMEMBER
% AND STILL DEALING WITH IT,
% CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE.
% THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF
% NATURAL RESOURCES HAD A PROGRAM
% FOR A WHILE CALLED "BURN A BUCK"
% WHERE IN ORDER TO SHOOT A BUCK,
% YOU HAVE TO SHOOT AN ANTLERLESS
% DEER IN AREAS OF THE STATE, AND
% THAT PROGRAM WAS IN PLACE
% BECAUSE WE WANTED TO REDUCE
% DENSITY OF THE DEER HERD IN
% AREAS THAT WE KNEW CHRONIC
% WASTING DISEASE WAS A PROBLEM.
% WELL, WE REMEMBERED THAT
% PROGRAM.
% PEOPLE DIDN'T LIKE IT, WHICH IS
% UNDERSTANDABLE, YOU KNOW,
% BECAUSE HERE COMES THAT, YOU
% KNOW, EIGHT-POINT BUCK RIGHT IN
% FRONT OF YOUR DEER STAND, AND
% YOU CAN'T SHOOT IT BECAUSE YOU
% HAVE NOT SHOT AN ANTLERLESS DEER
% YET, AND SO IF WE DECIDE THAT WE
% WANT TO CONTROL THIS VIRUS IN
% DEER OR THAT WE NEED TO, WE WILL
% PROBABLY HAVE TO THINK OF SOME
% CREATIVE WAYS OF THINNING THE
% HERD IN CERTAIN STRATEGIC AREAS
% TO DO THAT, AND IT IS LIKELY TO
% CAUSE SOME CONFLICT BETWEEN
% PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE DEER
% HUNTING COMMUNITY, BUT I THINK
% IF WE, YOU KNOW, IF PEOPLE
% UNDERSTAND THE RISK THAT THIS
% MIGHT POSE, WE DON'T KNOW YET,
% BUT THE RISK IT MIGHT POSE, I
% THINK WE CAN FIND COMMONGROUND.
% >> SHOULD POLICYMAKERS WILL TAKG
% ACTION, AND SHOULD THE PUBLIC BE
% PANICKED AT THIS POINT?
% >> NO AND NO.
% RIGHT NOW, OUR BEST STRATEGY IS
% TO WAIT BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW
% THE RISK OF TRANSMISSION TO
% HUMANS YET.
% WE DON'T KNOW THE DISTRIBUTION
% OF THE VIRUS OUTSIDE OF THE
% STUDY DONE IN IOWA.
% SO RIGHT NOW, WE'D BE JUMPING
% THE GUN.
% I THINK THE BEST WE CAN DO IS
% ADOPT PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE.
% LET'S NOT PANIC, BUT LET'S JUST
% ASSUME, BECAUSE OF THE SAFE AND
% REASONABLE THING TO DO, THAT
% DEER POSE SOME SORT OF RISK, AND
% SO LET'S BE CAREFUL WHEN WE ARE
% NEAR THEM, WHEN WE PROCESS THEM,
% WHEN WE HUNT THEM, WHEN THEY ARE
% IN CAPTIVE SETTINGS LIKE FARMS
% AND ZOOS, LET'S EXERCISE
% ADDITIONAL CAUTION UNTIL WE GET
% MORE INFORMATION.
% >> WHAT WILL YOU BE MONITORING
% CLOSEST GOING FORWARD?
% >> I AM VERY CURIOUS ABOUT TWO
% THINGS.%I WANT TO KNOW WHERE
IN THE
% UNITED STATES THE VIRUS HAS
% ALREADY SPREAD.
% IS IT THE UPPER MIDWEST?
% IS IT THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES?
% ALL OF NORTH AMERICA?
% ARE THERE POCKETS OF VIRUS OR
% NOT?
% THE OTHER THING THAT I'M VERY
% CURIOUS ABOUT IS MIGHT THERE BE
% OTHER WILDLIFE BESIDES DEER THAT
% ARE INFECTED?
% THERE'S MANY ANIMALS OUT THERE
% THAT LIVE WITH DEER, INCLUDING
% MINK AND OTHERS LIKE MINKS, AND
% SO COULD THIS VIRUS SPREAD
% FURTHER INTO OUR ECOSYSTEM, OR
% HAS IT DONE THAT ALREADY, AND IF
% SO, ARE WE GOING TO GET VARIANTS
% OF THE VIRUS THAT ARE DEER VIRUS
% AND MINK VIRUS AND WHO KNOWS
% WHAT ELSE?
% SO, YOU KNOW, STEPPING BACK FROM
% THE CLEAR PUBLIC HEALTH
% SIGNIFICANCE OF ALL OF THIS IS
% ACTUALLY A PRETTY INTERESTING
% REALTIME EXAMPLE OF VIRUS
% EVOLUTION.
% WHAT HAPPENS ON VIRUS THAT JUMPS
% SPECIES AND BEGINS TO ADAPT IN
% DIFFERENT WAYS.
% I WISH IT WEREN'T HAPPENING,
% BELIEVE ME, BUT THE FACT IT IS
% HAPPENING DOES GIVE US A LOT OF
% INTERESTING NEW INFORMATION
% ABOUT HOW VIRUSES BEHAVE.
% >> ALL RIGHT.
% WE LEAVE IT THERE.
% PROFESSOR TONY GOLDBERG OF THE
% UW SCHOOL OF VETERINARY
% MEDICINE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH
% FOR JOINING US.
% >> YOU'RE VERY WELCOME.
% >> FOR MORE FROM "HERE & NOW"
% AND PBS WISCONSIN, YOU CAN VISIT
% PBSWISCONSIN.ORG/NEWS AND THANK%
YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US ON
% "NOON WEDNESDAY."