COVID-19 Detected In Utah Deer For The First Time

COVID-19 has been detected in deer in Utah for the first time, according to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

Last year, COVID-19 was detected in white-tailed deer in parts of the U.S., but this is the first time the virus has been detected in mule deer in Utah. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources used samples from deer in Utah during winter health assessment, the agency said in a blog post Monday.

A case of the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant was found last week in one of the samples from a female mule deer in Morgan County. It was the only deer to test positive from the nasal samples, but antibodies were found in several other deer through blood samples, which means the virus had been in the deer population prior to the annual helicopter captures where biologists perform health checks and place GPS collars on the deer.

"While it is confirmed that mule deer are susceptible to this virus, the deer that we took samples from did not show any clinical signs of the illness, and 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," Utah Division of Wildlife Resources state veterinarian Ginger Stout said in the blog post.

DWR said it's unclear how the deer were exposed to the delta variant, but said it's possible it was contracted through other people, other deer or other animal species. The DWR also said there is no evidence people can contract COVID-19 from eating meat from an infected animal, but it's important to always practice good hygiene when it comes to eating wild animals.