COVID-19 virus found in three Quebec deer in Canada

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Three deer in Quebec have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The three white-tailed deer were found in Quebec’s Estrie region and this is the first time the disease has been detected in wild animals in Canada.

“Similar to findings in the United States, the deer showed no evidence of clinical signs of disease, and were all apparently healthy,” according to the press release.

As this is the first detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife in Canada, information on the impacts and spread of the virus in wild deer populations is currently limited,” the press release added.

Previous research found that deer in several states in the northern U.S. were testing positive for the virus. Studies indicated human-to-deer and deer-to-deer transmission.

One study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 40 per cent of the 385 wild deer they sampled in 2021 from four states: New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

These antibodies suggest that the deer were exposed to COVID-19 at some point, the researchers wrote.

However, according to Canada’s Environment Ministry, “there has been no known transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from deer to humans at this time."