Multiple spillovers from humans and onward transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer.
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Authors
Kuchipudi, Suresh V
Yon, Michele
Vandegrift, Kurt J
Li, Lingling
Jayarao, Bhushan M
Maranas, Costas D
Levine, Nicole
Olsen, Randall J
Davis, James J
Publication Date
2022-02-08Journal Title
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
ISSN
0027-8424
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume
119
Issue
6
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Kuchipudi, S. V., Surendran-Nair, M., Ruden, R. M., Yon, M., Nissly, R. H., Vandegrift, K. J., Nelli, R. K., et al. (2022). Multiple spillovers from humans and onward transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 119 (6) https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121644119
Abstract
Many animal species are susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and could act as reservoirs; however, transmission in free-living animals has not been documented. White-tailed deer, the predominant cervid in North America, are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and experimentally infected fawns can transmit the virus. To test the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 is circulating in deer, 283 retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) samples collected from 151 free-living and 132 captive deer in Iowa from April 2020 through January of 2021 were assayed for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Ninety-four of the 283 (33.2%) deer samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA as assessed by RT-PCR. Notably, following the November 2020 peak of human cases in Iowa, and coinciding with the onset of winter and the peak deer hunting season, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 80 of 97 (82.5%) RPLN samples collected over a 7-wk period. Whole genome sequencing of all 94 positive RPLN samples identified 12 SARS-CoV-2 lineages, with B.1.2 (n = 51; 54.5%) and B.1.311 (n = 19; 20%) accounting for ∼75% of all samples. The geographic distribution and nesting of clusters of deer and human lineages strongly suggest multiple human-to-deer transmission events followed by subsequent deer-to-deer spread. These discoveries have important implications for the long-term persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Our findings highlight an urgent need for a robust and proactive "One Health" approach to obtain enhanced understanding of the ecology, molecular evolution, and dissemination of SARS-CoV-2.
Keywords
Spillover, Deer, Animal Reservoir, One Health, Sars-cov-2, Animals, Humans, Zoonoses, Disease Reservoirs, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2
Sponsorship
NIAID NIH HHS (75N93019C00076)
Identifiers
PMC8833191, 35078920
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121644119
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/334480
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