American white-tailed deer are common east of the Rocky Mountains, as well as in southwestern Arizona, and most of Mexico except lower California. They share close contacts with humans through hunting and farming. Animal-vehicle collisions become a problem during rutting season, especially after dark. National Geographic reported August 2, 2021 a number of white-tailed deer have COVID-19 antibodies protecting them from SARS-CoV-2.
How Researchers Homed in On Their Discovery
Researchers with U.S. Department of Agriculture were investigating human-wildlife interactions, because they wanted to find out whether COVID-19 was transferring. They focused on American white tailed deer because:
1… First, they have ACE2 receptors with high affinity for the SARS-CoV-2 virus
2… The animals also have low resistance to viruses, and share these within the species
3… Moreover, white-tailed deer are often abundant near urban areas where they forage
4… Approximately 30 million white-tailed deer roam in parts of the United States
The researchers examined blood samples taken from 600 deer in Michigan, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania over the past decade. Then they discovered 40% of those from January through to March 2021 had antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. But, how did the deer contract the disease, which was probably asymptomatic as they seemed healthy when tested.
How Did the White Tailed Deer Get the Antibodies?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture told National Geographic the chances of animal to human transmission are low. However, they still need to understand how a reservoir of the disease formed among the animals. And so they came up with following short-listed possibilities:
1… Captive breeding, conservation work, field research, supplemental feeding, wildlife tourism, and wildlife rehabilitation.
2… Contaminated wastewater, exposure to other infected species, virus spreading in the herd, and hunting by humans.
However, the human link seems the most likely way the white-tailed deer developed their COVID-19 antibodies. That is because a second sample, dating from before January 2020 only turned up one positive case, among 239 deer samples tested.
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Preview Image: White Tailed Deer Browsing
