Michigan’s white-tailed deer exposed to COVID-19: What it means – Detroit Free Press

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As researchers continue to observe the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on humans,the U.S. Department ofAgriculture is studying itseffect on wildlife.

A recent study from the USDA'sAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Servicediscovered that white-tailed deer populations in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

White-tailed deer are found in every county in Michigan, according to theDepartment of Natural Resources.

Researchers discovered antibodies for the virus in33% of the 481 bloodsamples they collectedfromJanuary 2020 through March2021.

Ofthe 33% of samples withantibodies present,only threewere collected in 2020. All the others were collectedin 2021, said Thomas DeLiberto, assistant director at the USDANational Wildlife Research Center and a contributing author of thestudy.

When compared with 143 samples collected before January 2020, only onesampleshowed signs of exposure. Researchers determined this sample was afalse positive, DeLiberto said.

Researchers do not currently know how the deer were exposed, but it's possible they were exposed through humans, the environment, other deer or another species entirely, according to a USDA summary of the study's findings.

There are about 30 million white-tailed deer across the United States which often come into close contact with people, according to the USDA. While this sounds concerning, DeLiberto said the risk of transmission from animals to people is very low.

"This is a human-adapted pathogen. In its current form, it likes to be in people and the greatest risk to people is transmission from other infected people," hesaid.

Hunters concerned with eating meat from infected deerhave no need to fear. According to the USDA, there is no evidence people can get COVID-19 by eating or preparing meat from infected animals.

Samples were collected from deer in 32 counties across the four states. Samples for the study were obtainedopportunistically as part of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service'swildlife damage management activities, according to the USDA.

Of the 113 samples collected in Michigan, 76showed signs of exposure. All 113 of thesesamples were collected between January and March of 2021, DeLiberto said.

In Illinois, 7% of the 101 samples collected contained antibodies. In New York, 19% of 68 samples indicated exposure. In Pennsylvania, antibodies were detected in 31% of its 199 samples.

On Aug.21, 2020, the National Academy of Sciences published a study which found some animals are atgreater risk of being infectedwith SARS-CoV-2. In October 2020, multiple mink at a Michigan farmshowed signs of illnesswith two testing"presumptive positive" for the virus during an autopsy.

After the department's Agricultural Research Service discovered it could experimentally infect white-tailed deer with SARS-CoV-2 in captivity, the next step was to see whether deer could be infected in the wild, DeLibertosaid.

"The CDC estimates that over 114 million Americans have been infected by SARS-CoV-2," DeLiberto said. "With a lot of us in the science community, itraised some concern as to whether we're starting to see spillover of that virus from people to animals."

While the study was intendedto see whether white-tailed deer had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, it opened a number of questions about what this exposure means.

One of the things DeLiberto wants to further explore is the extentwhite-tailed deer have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, and how they are exposed to the virus.

"Is the virus circulating in white-tailed deer? We don't know that from this study because we only looked at exposure," DeLiberto said. "If it is circulating, are they transmitting it to other wildlife or domestic animals?"

While the USDA has not observed signs of illness in the wild deer surveyedand the infected deer in captivity, it noted this was not the focus of this study.

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In terms of Michigan's deer population, DeLiberto said the sample is too small to tell how many deer could have been exposed in the state.

"We only tested 113 samples. In Michigan there are so many, manymore deer, right? In order to get a real good handle on how many have been infected in Michigan, you would have to get a much bigger sample size than that, than 113, and you'd have to get them from all over the state," DeLiberto said.

The samples in Michigan were taken from deer in Alpena, Alcona,Emmett, Gratiot, Ingham, Isabella, Jackson,Lenawee, Mecosta,Montmorency and Presque Isle counties.

The USDA is currently working with federal and state organizations, including theU.S. Department of the Interior, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionand the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agenciesto determine its next steps.

Contact Breaking News InternKyle Davidson: kdavidson@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@jrndavidson.

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Michigan's white-tailed deer exposed to COVID-19: What it means - Detroit Free Press