SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Hale, V. L.; Dennis, P. M.; McBride, D. S.; Nolting, J. M.; Madden, C.; Huey, D.; Ehrlich, M.; Grieser, J.; Winston, J. A.; Lombardi, D.; Gibson, S.; Saif, L.; Killian, M. L.; Lantz, K.; Tell, R. M.; Torchetti, M. K.; Robbe-Austerman, S.; Nelson, M. I.; Faith, S. A.; Bowman, A.

doi:10.1101/2021.11.04.467308

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.11.04.467308

SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

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Abstract

Human-to-animal spillover of SARS-CoV-2 virus has occurred in a wide range of animals, but thus far, the establishment of a new natural animal reservoir has not been detected. Here, we detected SARS-CoV-2 virus using rRT-PCR in 129 out of 360 (35.8%) free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from northeast Ohio (USA) sampled between January-March 2021. Deer in 6 locations were infected with at least 3 lineages of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.2, B.1.596, B.1.582). The B.1.2 viruses, dominant in Ohio at the time, spilled over multiple times into deer populations in different locations. Deer-to-deer transmission may have occurred in three locations. The establishment of a natural reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer could facilitate divergent evolutionary trajectories and future spillback to humans, further complicating long-term COVID-19 control strategies. One-Sentence SummaryA significant proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging US white-tailed deer reveals a potential new reservoir.

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Hale, V. L., Dennis, P. M., McBride, D. S., Nolting, J. M., Madden, C., Huey, D., Ehrlich, M., Grieser, J., Winston, J. A., Lombardi, D., Gibson, S., Saif, L., Killian, M. L., Lantz, K., Tell, R. M., Torchetti, M. K., Robbe-Austerman, S., Nelson, M. I., Faith, S. A., Bowman, A.. 2021-11-05. SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.04.467308

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