Serological Evidence That SARS-CoV-2 Has Not Emerged in Deer in Germany or Austria during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Andres Moreira-Soto; Christian Walzer; Gábor Á Czirják; Martin H Richter; Stephen F Marino; Annika Posautz; Pau De Yebra Rodo; Gayle K McEwen; Jan Felix Drexler; Alex D Greenwood

doi:10.3390/microorganisms10040748

Serological Evidence That SARS-CoV-2 Has Not Emerged in Deer in Germany or Austria during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Microorganisms. 2022 Mar 30;10(4):748. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10040748.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Virology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
² Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, NY 10460, USA.
³ Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology (FIWI), A-1160 Vienna, Austria.
⁴ Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, 10315 Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR), 10589 Berlin, Germany.
⁶ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Spillover of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to North American white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has been documented. However, it is unclear if this is a phenomenon specific to North American deer or is a broader problem. We evaluated pre and pandemic exposure of German and Austrian deer species using a SARS-CoV-2 pseudoneutralization assay. In stark contrast to North American white-tailed deer, we found no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 exposure.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; fallow deer; hunting; red deer; roe deer.