Internal medicine

Virus

Disease

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Biology

Zoology

Virology

Ecology

Odocoileus

Zoonosis

Wildlife

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Medicine

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Widespread human SARS-CoV-2 infections combined with human-wildlife interactions create the potential for reverse zoonosis from humans to wildlife. We targeted white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for serosurveillance based on evidence these deer have angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors with high affinity for SARS-CoV-2, are permissive to infection, exhibit sustained viral shedding, can transmit to conspecifics, exhibit social behavior, and can be abundant near urban centers. We evaluated 624 prepandemic and postpandemic serum samples from wild deer from four US states for SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Antibodies were detected in 152 samples (40%) from 2021 using a surrogate virus neutralization test. A subset of samples tested with a SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralization test showed high concordance between tests. These data suggest white-tailed deer in the populations assessed have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2 exposure in wild white-tailed deer ( <i>Odocoileus virginianus</i> )

SARS-CoV-2 exposure in wild white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus )