A third of Ohio deer test positive for COVID-19 virus

Researchers found SARS-CoV-2 in 36% of white-tailed deer in Ohio, with evidence of deer-to-deer spread, according to a study late last week in Nature.

Though a study last month found about the same level of COVID-19 infection in Iowa deer and Canada reported SARS-CoV-2 in deer earlier this month, evidence from the new study "leads toward the idea that we might actually have established a new maintenance host outside humans," said Andrew Bowman DVM, PhD, associate professor of veterinary preventive medicine at The Ohio State University and senior author, in an Ohio State news release.
Infection rate as high as 70%

Ohio State University scientists obtained nasal swab samples from 360 white-tailed deer at nine sites in January through March 2021 in northeastern Ohio and found that 129 (25.8%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 via real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The deer had been culled in an effort to control the population.

Each site was sampled up to three times, for a total of 18 sample collection dates.

Deer in six locations were infected with 3 SARS-CoV-2 lineages (B.1.2, B.1.582, B.1.596—none of which are variants of concern). The B.1.2 viruses, dominant in people in the state at the time of testing, infected deer at four sites.

[link to www.cidrap.umn.edu (secure)]