Category: Pennsylvania
USA: At least 125,000 vaccine breakthrough infections, 1,400 dead
At least 125,000 fully vaccinated Americans have tested positive for Covid and 1,400 of those have died, according to data collected by NBC News. The total number of breakthrough cases is likely higher than 125,683, since nine states, including Pennsylvania and Missouri, did not provide any information, while 11, like Florida, did not provide death and hospitalization totals. Four states gave death and hospitalization numbers, but not the full tally of cases.
WAPO: 35,000 symptomatic Covid-19 infections per week among 162 million vaccinated Americans
USA: Sars-CoV-2 antibodies detected in 33% of White-Tailed Deer samples
Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were detected in 33% of the 481 samples collected from January 2020 through 2021. None of the deer populations surveyed showed signs of clinical illness associated with SARS-CoV-2. Results of the study indicate that certain white-tailed deer populations in Illinois, Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania were exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
It is important to note that this surveillance was designed to determine exposure of deer to SARS-CoV-2 in their natural environment. It was not designed to determine whether the deer were replicating and shedding SARS-CoV-2.
UPDATE 22/08/2021
The Biorxiv preprint of the deer study does contain two interesting paragraphs that refer to Sars-CoV-2 positive tests in white tailed deer in 2019 and early 2020:
“Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were detected in 40% of the 2021 surveillance samples (Table 1). Antibodies were also detected in three samples from 2020 and one sample from 2019. No detections were observed in samples from 2011-2018. The results from the sVNT screening showed high concordance with those obtained by VNT (Table 1). Specifically, 24/24 of 2021 detections and 24/24 of 2021 negatives were concordant for sVNT compared to VNT.
Most of the positive samples from 2021 had percent inhibition values between 80-100% while the 2019-2020 positive samples had relatively low percent inhibition values (30.03-43.72, Figure 1). Percent inhibition scores ≥30 are considered positive for this assay. Low percent inhibition could represent potential waxing/waning immunity, non-specific antibody binding, or cross-reactivity from exposure to unknown endemic coronaviruses. The three positive samples from 2020 were collected in January, very early in the pandemic. In fact, the majority of the 2020 samples that were available for testing were from January-March, with only 21 samples collected later in the year, 20 of which were collected in October from a single location. Consequently, we have limited information on prevalence over time in 2020.
Preprint: SARS-CoV-2 exposure in wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Image by Robert Woeger from Pixabay
USA: Two lionesses test positive for #coronavirus in Pittsburgh Zoo, Pennsylvania
Two female lions at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in people. Both lions were displaying clinical signs of occasional coughing and diarrhea but were otherwise normal. However, positive cases at other zoos prompted the veterinary team to test all six animals out of an abundance of caution, even though four of the lions were reportedly healthy. The Pittsburgh Zoo has been closely following CDC guidelines and have been in close contact with experts who have been monitoring and testing for this disease.
Photo by Daley van de Sande on Unsplash
2 Lions positive for #coronavirus at Pittsburgh Zoo
The staff at Pittsburgh Zoo say two of their lionesses have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
According to zookeepers, the lions were both displaying some symptoms including occasional coughing and diarrhea. The zoo reports that the two cats likely contracted the virus after an exposure to an asymptomatic zoo employee. Zookeepers say they are in contact with other zoos who have had big cats come down with the virus and using their insight to care for the two infected animals.
Pittsburgh.cbslocal.com report