Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha Variant in White-Tailed Deer, Ohio, USA

Free-ranging white-tailed deer (WTD) are highly susceptible to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Through an opportunistic sampling of WTD in northeast Ohio, USA, during January-March 2023, we identified 6 SARS-CoV-2 lineages from 36 sequences using the pangolin lineages tool, including the B.1.1.7 lineage (Alpha variant) and BQ.1.1, BQ.1.1.63, BQ.1.1.67, BQ.1.23, and XBB.1.5.35 lineages (Omicron variant). The Alpha variant, introduced by a single human-to-deer transmission event, was detected in 5 WTD in January 2023, more than 1 year after the most recent detection of the Alpha variant in humans in Ohio (August 2021). A genetically similar B.1.1.7 lineage virus from WTD in a nearby county in Pennsylvania was positioned with our Ohio deer transmission cluster, suggesting deer-to-deer transmission. The persistence of the Alpha variant in WTD in Ohio warrants continued surveillance to monitor if WTD can become a reservoir for displaced SARS-CoV-2 variants.