PARTNERSHIP: NATURAL EXPERIMENTS OF SARS-COV-2 TRANSMISSION IN CAPTIVE CERVID AGRO-ECOSYSTEMS

Using the large deer farm network in Texas, we aim toquantify 1) the frequency of captive cervid infection; 2) the degree of horizontal transmissionamong captive deer and sympatric livestock, wildlife, and farm workers; 3) viral genomevariants among deer and directionality of transmission and 4) the consequence of SARS-CoV-2infection on animal health. Our ongoing partnerships with deer farms, established capacity formolecular and serological assays, and integrated team of epidemiologists and veterinarians willfacilitate the project. This project will provide critical information for management decisions toimproving agricultural biosecurity and protect animal health.