Large-scale effort to test Nebraska animals for COVID set to begin

Multiple agencies across the state are collaborating on testing to keep ahead of mutations.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Scientists are in agreement that the Coronavirus pandemic began in animals. There’s evidence that COVID is still circulating in animals, including some that are close to home.

Dr. Bryan Buss works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and he’s supporting the efforts of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to test animals for COVID.

“A variant was detected in deer in Canada that had multiple mutations”, he explains, “and some suggest that those mutations might have happened in the deer population.”

In a state with a lot of deer, that’s certainly something that Nebraska researchers are working to understand because that situation could lead to some trouble.

“It is a concern,” Dr. Buss says, “that this could become established in an animal population and circulate in an animal population and offer more opportunities for variants to show up and possibly spill back into people.”

In fact, the study detailing virus variants in Canadian deer suggests that one of their mutations could have been passed along to a person. That’s obviously something we’d all like to avoid, so we don’t have to start this whole mess over again.

When it comes to testing Nebraska animals, hunter participation has been instrumental. They need to agree to allow testing on the animals they harvest.

“We’ve had a very good response rate,” says Dr. Buss. “We’ve had over a third that have agreed to us, allowing us to test those lymph nodes.”

While deer are a large part of the upcoming testing, they aren’t the only part. Cats at several humane societies in the state will be tested, as well as animals that are being tested for rabies. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is also involved, as they continue testing their own animals.

“In multiple states, including Nebraska, there’s been detections of the virus in zoo animals; some primates, a number of large cats,” says Buss. “When we proposed this to the zoo, they were very willing to participate.”

It’s taken a lot of work by a lot of different agencies, as well as a good deal of funding to get this large effort underway. But with all the pieces lined up, a great deal of work can finally begin.