OmniVira

Literature detail

SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivity in Urban Population of Wild Fallow Deer, Dublin, Ireland, 2020-2022.

Kevin Purves Hannah Brown Ruth Haverty Andrew Ryan Laura L Griffin Janet McCormack Sophie O'Reilly Patrick W Mallon Virginie Gautier Joseph P Cassidy Aurelie Fabre Michael J Carr Gabriel Gonzalez Simone Ciuti Nicola F Fletcher
PMID 39043403 2024 Emerg Infect Dis eng ppublish
PubMed DOI Browse context

Article

Publication summary

SARS-CoV-2 can infect wildlife, and SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern might expand into novel animal reservoirs, potentially by reverse zoonosis. White-tailed deer and mule deer of North America are the only deer species in which SARS-CoV-2 has been documented, raising the question of whether other reservoir species exist. We report cases of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in a fallow deer population located in Dublin, Ireland. Sampled deer were seronegative in 2020 when the Alpha variant was circulating in humans, 1 deer was seropositive for the Delta variant in 2021, and 12/21 (57%) sampled deer were seropositive for the Omicron variant in 2022, suggesting host tropism expansion as new variants emerged in humans. Omicron BA.1 was capable of infecting fallow deer lung type-2 pneumocytes and type-1-like pneumocytes or endothelial cells ex vivo. Ongoing surveillance to identify novel SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs is needed to prevent public health risks during human-animal interactions in periurban settings.

cervid coronavirus coronavirus disease COVID-19 deer Dublin Ireland respiratory infections SARS SARS-CoV-2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 viruses wildlife reservoir zoonoses COVID-19 Deer SARS-CoV-2 Animals

Structured evidence records

Evidence records

4 total
Host Range Experiment 1 records
Host Range Experiment Extraction confidence 0.90
Key finding

Omicron BA.1 SARS-CoV-2 infected lung and endothelial cells from fallow deer in an ex vivo system.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Host
Dama dama
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

Omicron BA.1 was capable of infecting fallow deer lung type-2 pneumocytes and type-1-like pneumocytes or endothelial cells ex vivo.

Method
infection assay
Sample type
lung type-2 pneumocytes; type-1-like pneumocytes; endothelial cells
Experimental system
ex vivo
Serological Evidence 1 records
Serological Evidence Extraction confidence 1.00
Key finding

Wild fallow deer in Dublin exhibited SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, with increasing seropositivity observed from 2020 to 2022 corresponding to different variants.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Host
Dama dama
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

We report cases of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in a fallow deer population located in Dublin, Ireland. Sampled deer were seronegative in 2020 when the Alpha variant was circulating in humans, 1 deer was seropositive for the Delta variant in 2021, and 12/21 (57%) sampled deer were seropositive for the Omicron variant in 2022.

Method
serology
Sample type
serum
Spillover Event 1 records
Spillover Event Extraction confidence 0.90
Key finding

Wild fallow deer in Dublin, Ireland showed serologic evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection consistent with human-to-deer spillback, with seropositivity increasing across variants circulating in humans.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
Ireland Ireland
Supporting text

We report cases of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in a fallow deer population located in Dublin, Ireland... Sampled deer were seronegative in 2020 when the Alpha variant was circulating in humans, 1 deer was seropositive for the Delta variant in 2021, and 12/21 (57%) sampled deer were seropositive for the Omicron variant in 2022, suggesting host tropism expansion as new variants emerged in humans.

Method
serology; ex vivo infection assay
Study design
serological survey
Transmission direction
human-to-animal
Geographic raw
Dublin, Ireland
Country inferred
Ireland
Zoonotic Surveillance 1 records
Zoonotic Surveillance Extraction confidence 0.95
Key finding

Serological monitoring of wild fallow deer in Dublin, Ireland detected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies across 2020–2022, with increasing seropositivity through successive human variant waves.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Host
Dama dama
Location
Ireland Ireland
Supporting text

We report cases of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in a fallow deer population located in Dublin, Ireland. Sampled deer were seronegative in 2020 when the Alpha variant was circulating in humans, 1 deer was seropositive for the Delta variant in 2021, and 12/21 (57%) sampled deer were seropositive for the Omicron variant in 2022.

Method
serology; Seroepidemiologic Studies
Sample type
blood
Geographic raw
Dublin, Ireland
Country inferred
Ireland