SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer - Nature.com

Abstract

Humans have infected a wide range of animals with SARS-CoV-2 viruses^1–5, but the establishment of a new natural animal reservoir has not been observed. Here, we document that free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are highly susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus, are exposed to a range of viral diversity from humans, and are capable of sustaining transmission in nature. SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected by rRT-PCR in more than one-third (129/360, 35.8%) of nasal swabs obtained from Odocoileus virginianus in northeast Ohio (USA) during January-March 2021. Deer in 6 locations were infected with 3 SARS-CoV-2 lineages (B.1.2, B.1.582, B.1.596). The B.1.2 viruses, dominant in humans in Ohio at the time, infected deer in four locations. Probable deer-to-deer transmission of B.1.2, B.1.582, and B.1.596 viruses was observed, allowing the virus to acquire amino acid substitutions in the spike protein (including the receptor-binding domain) and ORF1 that are infrequently seen in humans. No spillback to humans was observed, but these findings demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 viruses have the capacity to transmit in US wildlife, potentially opening new pathways for evolution. There is an urgent need to establish comprehensive “One Health” programs to monitor deer, the environment, and other wildlife hosts globally.

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Author notes

1. Martha I. Nelson

   Present address: National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA

2. These authors contributed equally: Vanessa L. Hale, Patricia M. Dennis

Affiliations

1. Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

   Vanessa L. Hale, Patricia M. Dennis, Dillon S. McBride, Jaqueline M. Nolting, Christopher Madden, Devra Huey, Linda Saif & Andrew S. Bowman

2. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland, OH, 44109, USA

   Patricia M. Dennis

3. The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

   Margot Ehrlich

4. Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland, OH, 44144, USA

   Jennifer Grieser

5. Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

   Jenessa Winston

6. Ohio Wildlife Center, Powell, OH, 43065, USA

   Dusty Lombardi & Stormy Gibson

7. Center for Food Animal Health, The Ohio State University College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences, Wooster, OH, 44691, USA

   Linda Saif

8. National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, 50010, USA

   Mary L. Killian, Kristina Lantz, Rachel Tell, Mia Torchetti & Suelee Robbe-Austerman

9. Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

   Martha I. Nelson

10. Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Seth A. Faith

Authors

1. Vanessa L. Hale
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2. Patricia M. Dennis
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3. Dillon S. McBride
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4. Jaqueline M. Nolting
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5. Christopher Madden
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6. Devra Huey
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7. Margot Ehrlich
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8. Jennifer Grieser
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9. Jenessa Winston
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10. Dusty Lombardi
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11. Stormy Gibson
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12. Linda Saif
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13. Mary L. Killian
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14. Kristina Lantz
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15. Rachel Tell
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16. Mia Torchetti
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17. Suelee Robbe-Austerman
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18. Martha I. Nelson
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19. Seth A. Faith
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20. Andrew S. Bowman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew S. Bowman.

Supplementary information

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Supplementary Table 1

rRT-PCR testing results. The cycle threshold (Ct) value results for the E assay screen, N1, and N2 rRT-PCR targets are shown for the 360 nasal swabs collected from white-tailed deer as a part of this study. Final SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR result was considered presumptive positive if Ct values for all three targets were less < 40. For the 76 samples sent to NVSL, confirmatory rRT-PCR results are listed in addition to the samples for which whole genome sequencing (WGS) was successfully completed. See Extended Data Table 4 for GISAID accession numbers for the 14 sequences generated.

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Hale, V.L., Dennis, P.M., McBride, D.S. et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer. Nature (2021). https://ift.tt/3FpWE1R

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• Received: 12 November 2021

• Accepted: 14 December 2021

• Published: 23 December 2021

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04353-x

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SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer - Nature.com
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