White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are key hosts for zoonotic diseases due to their susceptibility to pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 (SCV2), Lyme Disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), and highly pathogenic avian influenza. Urban environments, with their high densities of both deer and humans, amplify the potential for disease spillover. In collaboration with USDA-WS, NPS, Washington D.C. Department of Energy and Environment, Fairfax County Park Authority (VA), and Montgomery Parks (MD), the University of Maryland’s URBANxNATURE and Applied Spatial Wildlife Ecology Lab are investigating human-deer disease transmission in urban settings. Deer are being captured using drop nets and anesthetized with BAM, 2024-2026. Nasal and oral swabs, blood samples, and ticks are being collected for testing. Out of 140 deer sampled in the winter of 2023-2024, 27 individuals tested positive for SCV2. Positive samples included ten nasal and six oral PCR positives from sharpshooting events, and eight sVNT seropositive results (five wildtype, three Omicron) from live trapping. Additionally, we confirmed the first longhorned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis) in Washington, D.C. These findings will inform an agent-based modeling framework to predict human-deer interaction hotspots, the context of such encounters, and the associated risk of airborne zoonotic disease transmission, contributing to urban wildlife management and public health strategies.
