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SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

View ORCID ProfileVanessa L. Hale, Patricia M. Dennis, Dillon S. McBride, Jaqueline M. Nolting, Christopher Madden, Devra Huey, Margot Ehrlich, Jennifer Grieser, Jenessa Winston, Dusty Lombardi, Stormy Gibson, Linda Saif, Mary L. Killian, Kristina Lantz, Rachel Tell, Mia Torchetti, Suelee Robbe-Austerman, Martha I. Nelson, Seth A. Faith, View ORCID ProfileAndrew S. Bowman
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.04.467308
Vanessa L. Hale
1Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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  • ORCID record for Vanessa L. Hale
Patricia M. Dennis
1Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
2Cleveland Metroparks Zoo; Cleveland, OH, 44109, USA
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Dillon S. McBride
1Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Jaqueline M. Nolting
1Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Christopher Madden
1Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Devra Huey
1Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Margot Ehrlich
3The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Jennifer Grieser
4Cleveland Metroparks; Cleveland, OH, 44144, USA
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Jenessa Winston
5Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Dusty Lombardi
6Ohio Wildlife Center; Powell, OH, 43065, USA
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Stormy Gibson
6Ohio Wildlife Center; Powell, OH, 43065, USA
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Linda Saif
1Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
7Center for Food Animal Health, The Ohio State University College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences; Wooster, OH, 44691, USA
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Mary L. Killian
8National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture; Ames, IA, 50010, USA
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Kristina Lantz
8National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture; Ames, IA, 50010, USA
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Rachel Tell
8National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture; Ames, IA, 50010, USA
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Mia Torchetti
8National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture; Ames, IA, 50010, USA
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Suelee Robbe-Austerman
8National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture; Ames, IA, 50010, USA
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Martha I. Nelson
9Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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Seth A. Faith
10Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Andrew S. Bowman
1Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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  • ORCID record for Andrew S. Bowman
  • For correspondence: bowman.214@osu.edu
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Abstract

Human-to-animal spillover of SARS-CoV-2 virus has occurred in a wide range of animals, but thus far, the establishment of a new natural animal reservoir has not been detected. Here, we detected SARS-CoV-2 virus using rRT-PCR in 129 out of 360 (35.8%) free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from northeast Ohio (USA) sampled between January-March 2021. Deer in 6 locations were infected with at least 3 lineages of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.2, B.1.596, B.1.582). The B.1.2 viruses, dominant in Ohio at the time, spilled over multiple times into deer populations in different locations. Deer-to-deer transmission may have occurred in three locations. The establishment of a natural reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer could facilitate divergent evolutionary trajectories and future spillback to humans, further complicating long-term COVID-19 control strategies.

One-Sentence Summary A significant proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging US white-tailed deer reveals a potential new reservoir.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted November 05, 2021.
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SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Vanessa L. Hale, Patricia M. Dennis, Dillon S. McBride, Jaqueline M. Nolting, Christopher Madden, Devra Huey, Margot Ehrlich, Jennifer Grieser, Jenessa Winston, Dusty Lombardi, Stormy Gibson, Linda Saif, Mary L. Killian, Kristina Lantz, Rachel Tell, Mia Torchetti, Suelee Robbe-Austerman, Martha I. Nelson, Seth A. Faith, Andrew S. Bowman
bioRxiv 2021.11.04.467308; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.04.467308
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SARS-CoV-2 infection in free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Vanessa L. Hale, Patricia M. Dennis, Dillon S. McBride, Jaqueline M. Nolting, Christopher Madden, Devra Huey, Margot Ehrlich, Jennifer Grieser, Jenessa Winston, Dusty Lombardi, Stormy Gibson, Linda Saif, Mary L. Killian, Kristina Lantz, Rachel Tell, Mia Torchetti, Suelee Robbe-Austerman, Martha I. Nelson, Seth A. Faith, Andrew S. Bowman
bioRxiv 2021.11.04.467308; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.04.467308

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