Researchers already knew white-tailed deer were capable of infection because they have similar receptors as found in humans, Rabinowitz said, so it’s not a surprise that deer would show exposure in the wild.
What’s concerning, he said, is the potential for the virus to inhabit an “animal reservoir,” where the virus spreads and mutates among a new host, in this case, deer, and not cause illness in the host but could reinfect recovering human populations and cause illness.
“Widespread human infections with SARS-CoV-2 combined with human-wildlife interactions create the potential for spillover between people and animals,” the USDA said.
There are about 30 million white-tail deer around the continental U.S., found in most states.
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