OmniVira

Screening of wild deer populations for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the United Kingdom, 2020-2021.

Maya Holding1,2 Ashley David Otter3 Stuart Dowall1 Katsuhisa Takumi4 Bethany Hicks3 Tom Coleman3 Georgia Hemingway3 Matthew Royds3 Stephen Findlay-Wilson1 Mollie Curran-French1 Richard Vipond1,2 Hein Sprong4 Roger Hewson1,2,5
Affiliations 5 institutions
  1. Virology and Pathogenesis Group, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, UK.
  2. Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, National Institute for Health Research, Liverpool, UK.
  3. SARS-CoV-2 Serosurveillance Laboratory, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, UK.
  4. Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
  5. Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, UK.
PMID35338581 DOI10.1111/tbed.14534 Year2022 Journal Transboundary and emerging diseases Transbound Emerg Dis Languageeng Statusppublish

Abstract

Following findings in Northern America of SARS-CoV-2 infections in white-tailed deer, there is concern of similar infections in European deer and their potential as reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 including opportunities for the emergence of new variants. UK deer sera were collected in 2020-2021 from 6 species and a hybrid with 1748 tested using anti-spike and anti-nucleocapsid serology assays. No samples were positive on both assays nor by surrogate neutralization testing. There is no evidence that spill-over infections of SARS-CoV-2 occurred from the human population to UK deer or that SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating in UK deer (over the study period). Although it cannot be ruled out, study results indicate that spill-over infections followed by circulation of SARS-CoV-2 to the most common European deer species is small.

Supporting text Virus Host Location
COVID-19 serological testing 3 deer 47 SARS-CoV-2 550 sentinel surveillance 9 United Kingdom 9 viral zoonoses 67 COVID-19 425 Deer 46 Animals 1948 Animals, Wild 187 Antibodies, Viral 212 COVID-19 Testing 3 Humans 1440 SARS-CoV-2 453 Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus 274 spike protein, SARS-CoV-2 157

Evidence records

1 total
Zoonotic Surveillance
1 records · 1 evidence types
Evidence type Serological Evidence
1 records
OVE5816 Serological Evidence
Key finding

Serological screening of UK deer found no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies or surrogate neutralization activity.

Virus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Host
deer Cervidae Natural host
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

Following findings in Northern America of SARS-CoV-2 infections in white-tailed deer, there is concern of similar infections in European deer and their potential as reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2 including opportunities for the emergence of new variants. UK deer sera were collected in 2020-2021 from 6 species and a hybrid with 1748 tested using anti-spike and anti-nucleocapsid serology assays. No samples were positive on both assays nor by surrogate neutralization testing.

Method
anti-spike serology assays | anti-nucleocapsid serology assays | surrogate neutralization testing
Sample type
sera