Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging white-tailed deer in the United States

In this work, we present the results of a large-scale surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 across free-ranging white-tailed deer populations in the US. Our objectives were to understand the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging white-tailed deer, to evaluate whether the virus circulated within white-tailed deer populations, and to assess transmission frequencies associated with zoonotic infections. In total, we collected 8,830 white-tailed deer nasal or oral swabs in Washington, D.C. and 26 states in the US from late fall of 2021 to early spring of 2022, yielding 944 RT-PCR positive samples.