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SALT LAKE CITY — The virus that causes COVID-19 in humans has now been found in Utah wildlife for the first time.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources on Monday confirmed a case of SARS-CoV-2 from a mule deer that was tested in northeast Utah late last year. However, Ginger Stout, the state wildlife veterinarian, said there's no reason to believe the virus is killing off deer — after the division estimated there are 9,150 fewer deer in Utah from estimates in 2020.
She added there's also no evidence that Utah deer can spread the virus to people, prompting new COVID-19 cases in people.
"There isn't any evidence that it is killing mule deer. There is also no evidence that animals, including mule deer, are playing a significant role in spreading SARS-CoV-2 to people, and the available research suggests that the likelihood of getting COVID-19 from an animal is quite low," she said, in a statement.
According to the division, the delta variant of the virus was detected in a female deer captured in Morgan County during annual helicopter captures in late 2021. It was one of about 280 deer that were captured in November and December so biologists could conduct tests to understand deer health in the state.
These tests normally include blood sampling; however, nasal swabs were also conducted last year before GPS collars were placed on the deer and they were returned to the wild. The tests were sent to a U.S. Department of Agriculture lab in Iowa, which confirmed the positive case last week, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. They added that "several" other Utah deer had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, indicating previous infection.
Division officials said Monday they still aren't sure how the deer contracted the virus, although the delta variant was the primary COVID-19 strain toward the end of 2021. They say it's possible the deer contracted it from people, another deer or another animal species altogether.
The virus was first reported in domestic Utah animals in July 2020, which is when a dog and cat were found to have SARS-CoV-2. In total, there have been 10 confirmed domestic animal cases at 12 different locations in the state since then. It was found at mink farms in the state later in 2020, and also in four lions at Hogle Zoo last year.
It's not terribly surprising that Utah's first wildlife case involves a deer, though. While it's also the first confirmed case in mule deer in the U.S., multiple states have reported cases involving white-tailed deer, including Louisiana, South Dakota and West Virginia three days before Utah's mule deer case was confirmed last Tuesday.
Ohio State University researchers published a study in Nature in December showing SARS-CoV-2 in more than one-third of white-tailed deer tested in northeast Ohio, including different variants "dominant in humans" at the time. Though no "spillback" to humans was observed in the study, they wrote the finding raises "profound questions" about future COVID-19 spread.
"The potential establishment of a new reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 viruses in white-tailed deer could open new pathways for evolution, transmission to other wildlife species and potential spillback of novel variants to humans that the human immune system has not previously encountered," the researchers wrote.
The federal Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is currently researching the effects of SARS-CoV-2 in wild mule deer across the West, state wildlife officials pointed out Monday.
They add that in addition to there not being evidence of harm to the infected animals or COVID-19 spread to humans in the state, there likewise isn't any evidence that people can contract COVID-19 from eating the meat of an infected animal. Officials still recommend that hunters always use "good food hygiene" practices when processing wildlife, nonetheless.
Per the division, good food hygiene includes:
- Not allowing contact between wildlife and domestic animals, including pets and hunting dogs.
- Not harvesting animals that appear sick or that were found dead.
- Keeping game meat clean and cooling down meat as soon as possible after harvesting an animal. People should also wear rubber or disposable gloves when handling and cleaning game meat. They shouldn't eat or smoke when handling the meat.
- Avoid cutting through the animal's backbone and spinal tissues. People should also not eat the brains of a wildlife animal.
- Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling and cleaning harvested meat.
