Humans transmitted COVID-19 virus to deer, study suggests

A ground-breaking survey of white-tailed deer in the US found evidence of both human-to-deer and deer-to-deer transmission of SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. The study found that white-tailed deer were infected with the being infected with the virus across at least 4 states in the US.

As part of the study, researchers found that 40% deer sampled across 4 states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York between January and March 2021 had COVID-19 antibodies. In Iowa, 80% of the deer sampled November 2020 and January 2021 were found to be carrying COVID-19 virus in a second unpublished study.

Due to the high levels of infections seen across the sampling, the researchers believe that deer-to-deer transmission is actively taking place.