Covid-19

Important Note: Studies on Covid-19 in deer are ongoing, and there is much the scientific community does not yet know. This page will attempt to summarize the current body of knowledge on Covid-19 in White-tailed Deer relating to transmission risks to humans and domestic animals.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease known as Covid-19 in humans, has been found in a variety of animal species. Natural infections of SARS-CoV-2 (meaning infections not induced experimentally) have been reported in pet dogs and cats, tigers, lions, snow leopards, pumas, and gorillas at zoos, and farmed mink and ferrets (Sharun et al., 2021). Many questions regarding the possibility of transmission from animals to humans remain under investigation. Currently, the only confirmed example of this involved the transmission of the virus from farmed mink to a small number of people in Denmark (Hammer et al., 2021).

In 2020, a study aimed at identifying species likely to serve as reservoirs for the virus determined that the White-tailed Deer was one of many animals likely to be susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2 (Damas et al., 2020). Additional research demonstrated that the virus could be transmitted between deer through contact (Palmer e al., 2021). Subsequent studies of wild deer revealed relatively high rates of infection in deer populations, although the deer do not appear to have symptoms of disease (Chandler et al., 2021; Kuchipudi et al., 2022). Although these studies seem to indicate that humans can transmit the virus to deer populations, there is currently little evidence that deer can infect humans. However, a study posted to a preprint server in February 2022 appears to suggest that this may have occurred in at least one case (Pickering et al, 2022 - preprint). It is important to note that this research is still unconfirmed, and provides little insight into how this transmission may have taken place. The risks of SARS-CoV-2 transmission between humans and deer remains an active area of research. In response to these studies, wildlife management agencies have recommended basic precautions for hunters, such as wearing a mask when exposed to deer respiratory fluids, and wearing gloves when handling deer carcasses (Government of Canada, 2022).

Overall, the current research indicates that the risk of catching Covid-19 from any animal is extremely low.

References:

Chandler, J.C., S.N. Bevins, J.W. Ellis, T.J. Linder, R.M. Tell, M. Jenkins-Moore, J.J. Root, J.B. Lenoch, S. Robee-Austerman, T.J. DeLiberto, T. Gidlewski, M.K. Torchetti, S.A. Shriner. 2021. SARS-CoV-2 exposure in wild white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). PNAS 118(47): e2114828118. https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2114828118

Damas, J., G.M. Hughes, K.C. Keough, and H.A. Lewin. 2020. Broad host range of SARS-CoV-2 predicted by comparative and structural analysis of ACE2 in vertebrates. PNAS 117(36): 22311-22322. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2010146117

Government of Canada, 2022. Animals and Covid-19. Accessed at https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks/animals-covid-19.html

Hammer, A.S., M.L. Quaade, T.B. Rasmussen, J. Fonager, M. Rasmussen, K. Mundbjerg, L. Lohse, B. Strandbygaard, C.S. JorgensenA. Alfaro-Núñez, M.W. Rosenstierne, A. Boklund, T. Halasa, A. Fomsgaard, G.J. Belsham, A. Botner. 2021. SARS-CoV-2 Transmission between Mink (Neovison vison) and Humans, Denmark. Emerging Infectious Diseases 27(2): 547-551. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7853580/#R2

Kuchipudi, S.V., M. Surendran-Nair, R.M. Ruden, and V. Kapur. 2022. Multiple spillovers from humans and onward transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer. PNAS 119(6): e2121644119. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2121644119

Palmer, M.V., M. Martins, S. Falkenberg, A. Buckley, L.C. Caserta, P.K. Mitchell, E.D. Cassmann, A. Rollins, N.C. Nylich, R.W. Renshaw, C. Guarino, B. Wagner, K. Lager, D.G. Diel. 2021. Susceptibility of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to SARS-CoV-2. Journal of Virology 95(11): e00083-21. https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/JVI.00083-21

Pickering, B., O. Lung, F. Maguire, P. Kruczkiewicz, J.D. Kotwa, T. Buchanan, M. Gagnier, J.L. Guthrie, C.M. Jardine, A. Marchand-Austin, A. Massé, H. McClinchey, K. Nirmalarajah, P. Aftanas, J. Blais-Savoie, H. Chee, E. Chien, W. Yim, M. Goolia, M. Suderman, M. Pinette, G. Smith, D. Sullivan, J. Rudar, E. Adey, M. Nebroski, M. Côté, G. Laroche, A.J. McGeer, L. Nituch, S. Mubareka, and J. Bowman. 2022 (Preprint). Highly divergent white-tailed deer SARS-CoV-2 with potential deer-to-human transmission. Accessed at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.22.481551v1.full

Sharun, K., K. Dhama, A.M. Pawde, C. Gortázar, R. Tiwari, D.K. Bonilla-Aldana, A.J. Rodriguez-Morales, J. de la Fuente, I. Michalak, and Y.A. Attia. 2021. SARS-CoV-2 in animals: potential for unknown reservoir hosts and public health implications. The Veterinary Quarterly 41(1): 181-201. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33892621/

Plain Language Summaries (Public News Versions) of Research Articles Cited:

Crist, C., 2022. First Possible Case of Deer-to-Human COVID Transmission Identified. Accessed at https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20220301/deer-to-human-covid-transmission-first-possible-case#:~:text=Typically%2C%20humans%20spread%20the%20virus,been%20in%20contact%20with%20deer

Daniel, A., 2022. Researcher finds 'stunning' rate of COVID among deer. Here's what it means for humans. Accessed at https://www.wabe.org/researcher-finds-stunning-rate-of-covid-among-deer-heres-what-it-means-for-humans/

Doucleff, M., 2021. How SARS-CoV-2 in American deer could alter the course of the global pandemic. Accessed at https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/11/10/1054224204/how-sars-cov-2-in-american-deer-could-alter-the-course-of-the-global-pandemic