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 The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported infections of
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in wild white-tailed
deer in the state of Ohio, according to a statement. There were no
reports of deer showing symptoms of infection, the USDA said.
"We do not know how the deer were exposed to SARS-CoV-2," USDA
spokeswoman Lyndsay Cole wrote in an e-mail to Reuters. "It’s
possible they were exposed through people, the environment, other
deer, or another animal species."
The USDA has previously reported COVID-19 in animals including dogs,
cats, tigers, lions, snow leopards, otters, gorillas and minks.
Worldwide, most animal infections were reported in species that had
close contact with a person with COVID-19, according to the agency.
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 The USDA reported last month
that white-tailed deer populations in Illinois,
Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania were
exposed to SARS-CoV-2, based on a study that
analyzed serum samples from free-ranging deer
for antibodies to the disease.
The Ohio State University College of Veterinary
Medicine collected samples from the infected
deer in Ohio from January to March as part of
ongoing studies, the USDA said. The samples were
presumed to be positive for COVID-19 in
university tests, and the cases were confirmed
at USDA's National Veterinary Services
Laboratories, according to the statement.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by
Marguerita Choy)
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