美国多州发现“变异鹿” ？美官方：不影响人类

据英国《每日邮报》20日报道，美国多地近期发现一些野生鹿身上长有形似肿瘤的巨大疣体，被媒体称为“变异鹿”，类似此前在美国发现的所谓“僵尸松鼠”和“触手兔”。

美国野生动物部门确认，这是一种名为“鹿皮肤纤维瘤”（deer cutaneous fibroma）的常见疾病，并非新型传染病，也不是鹿本身发生变异。今年夏天该病例在美国多州有所增加。

Deer across the US have been spotted with tumor-like growths hanging off their bodies, joining rabbits and squirrels as animals showing signs of widespread disease. Wildlife officials have already identified the condition as deer cutaneous fibroma, better known as deer warts.

图源：每日邮报

报道称，过去两个月，纽约州、宾夕法尼亚州和威斯康星州相继有民众拍摄到身上长满奇怪肿块和疣块的畸形鹿。此类照片在社交媒体上流传，在美国东北部及太平洋沿岸西北各州也有类似情况的报告。

From the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest, pictures on social media continue to document cases of strange bubbles growing all over local deer, from their faces to their legs. Over the last two months, people have photographed deformed deer in New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

图源：每日邮报

对此，华盛顿州鱼类与野生动物管理局解释称，鹿皮肤纤维瘤是一种由乳头瘤病毒引起的疾病，可通过吸血昆虫叮咬及个体间接触等途径传播。这些昆虫将受感染鹿的血液传给健康的鹿，夏末秋初叮咬昆虫活动活跃的时期，病例数量通常会增加。当局同时也说明，这种病毒并不会传染人类。

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said: "Papillomas are most frequently seen during the late summer and into the fall, probably due to increased biting insect activity during this time of year." The virus mainly spreads through disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes and ticks, which pass on the blood of infected deer to healthy animals nearby.

图源：佛罗里达州鱼类与野生动物管理局官网

该病俗称“鹿疣”（dear wats），表现为鹿的体表长出灰色、黑色肉质状肿块，大小不一，从豌豆大小到最大可达约20厘米。相关病例在白尾鹿分布的各州均有记录。

报道称，专家指出，大多数情况下鹿疣不会危及生命，鹿的免疫系统通常能使其在数周至数月内自行缩小并消失。仅在极少数情况下，个别鹿出现疣体过大出现遮挡视线、影响进食等问题，或者发生细菌感染，也可能影响生存。科学家指出，鹿疣并非新近出现现象，相关病毒在人类开始研究前已存在数百年。美国对野生动物乳头瘤病毒的研究可追溯至20世纪50年代。

However, the condition is rarely fatal. The deer's immune system fights off the virus, and the warts shrink and disappear on their own after a few months. In rare cases, if the warts grow too large or become infected with bacteria, they can cause problems like blocking a deer's vision or ability to eat. Deer warts are not a new condition afflicting wildlife. Scientists believe it has been around for centuries, and studies on papillomaviruses affecting wildlife in the US go back to the 1950s.

美国各地拍摄到的“僵尸松鼠”“触手兔”“变异鹿”

今年，美国各地还报告出现因病毒感染而长出畸形增生组织的野兔和松鼠，被媒体称为“触手兔”和“僵尸松鼠”。有专家称，这些疾病分别由兔乳头瘤病毒和松鼠纤维瘤病引起。

编辑：黎霈融

实习生：杨佳润

来源：潇湘晨报 每日邮报

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