INVESTIGATION OF SARS-COV-2 SUSCEPTIBILITY IN RUMINANTS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The rationale of this work is to determine if white-tailed deer (WTD) can become infected and transmit SARS-CoV-2; this will be critical information for decision makers in terms of risk assessment and the development and implementation of proper mitigation and control measures. There is currently no information on SARS-CoV-2 infection in deer; however, there are studies based on virus-host receptor interactions suggesting that deer can become infected by SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the first objective of this work will be to study SARS-CoV-2 infection of deer cells, the second objective will be to infect WTD animals with SARS-CoV-2, and the third objective will be to develop diagnostic tools for SARS-CoV-2 infection in deer. This project will determine whether deer cells can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 and if WTD can become infected and transmit SARS-CoV-2; also, diagnostic tools for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in deer will be developed. This work is critical to understand the risk that SARS-CoV-2 poses to deer and for the development of respective tools in order to protect the health and security of our livestock and citizens.