Ohio deer can test positive for COVID but they might not infect humans
White-tailed deer can carry the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in humans.
Scientists from The Ohio State University discovered that 36% of a sample of Ohio deer have been positive for the virus within the last year, according to Clint McCoy, deer biologist for ODNR.
Deer harvested from nine sites across northeast Ohio were tested from January to March of 2021. Of the 360 deer tested, 129 were positive.
How did deer catch COVID?
How the deer became infected with the disease is still a mystery to ODNR biologists.
“That seems to be the million-dollar question right now when we see these infections in deer,” McCoy said. “We don’t know for certain how it is happening.”
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They speculate the virus was somehow deposited by a sick person into a water source that a deer soon drank.
“But we just don’t know yet,” McCoy said.
They do know that, like in humans, the virus lives in a deer’s upper respiratory system, including its nasal passages and throat.
Can people catch COVID from deer?
The next big question is: How much risk does an infected deer population pose to humans?
“We don’t know if deer are able to transmit the virus to humans,” McCoy said. “A human’s biggest risk of getting COVID is from another human.”
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It may be a morbid thought to some, but reality is that nearly everyone who comes into contact with a deer will not be touching a live animal, which means the virus that causes COVID-19 has already lost its host.
“Viruses cannot live outside of a live host,” McCoy said. “Within some period of time after death, the virus will go away on its own.”
Is it still safe to eat deer meat?
The good news for hunters is that cooked venison has zero chance of passing along COVID-19.
The bad news is that scientists aren’t sure yet what risk may be involved with field dressing a sick deer.
“We have encouraged hunters to be mindful of routine personal protective practices that they normally should be using any time they’re dressing a wild animal,” McCoy said.
There are still a number of other diseases, pathogens and bacteria aside from COVID that can be passed along from deer to hunter.
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“There have been some suggestions of wearing a mask,” McCoy said. “Wearing gloves, which is pretty standard guidance when handling wild animals.”
Avoid touching the nose, mouth and other portions of the respiratory tract while handling wild animals. Be sure to wash thoroughly after the process is complete.
Those who are immunocompromised are urged to consider having someone else dress and process the animal for them.
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“These are things that are out of abundance of caution because we just aren’t sure yet if it’s transmissible from deer to humans,” McCoy said.
More tests being completed by spring
Scientists should know more in the coming months after McCoy and his ODNR colleagues team up with researchers from OSU and the USDA to analyze test results collected from this year’s deer season.
Staff were stationed throughout the hunting season at deer-processing stations across the state. The goal was to collect samples in each of Ohio’s 88 counties.
The results are expected to be published sometime this spring.
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While the scientists may not be able to say yet if humans can catch COVID from animals, they do hope to better understand if white-tailed are a viable maintenance host outside of our species.
“The fact that a fairly ubiquitous wildlife species could be maintaining that disease in the wild and offering a chance for it to potentially mutate are things we think about,” McCoy said. “But again, we don’t know. I think that’s the importance of keeping an eye on it.”
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