AP23OA000000C003

The purpose of this award is to expand knowledge of species susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 to improve understanding of potential roles or routes of transmission. For this project, the recipient will first identify where and when humans and deer come in close contact. To achieve this, they will attach GPS-mounted tracking devices on white-tailed deer in the urban areas surrounding Washington, D.C. and combine that data with human mobility data to identify where deer and humans overlap in space and time.

The project also wants to identify different groups of urban residents that come in close contact with deer and classify the different types of human-deer interactions. The project will conduct field observations and interviews in areas of high human-deer overlap to document the different types of human-deer interactions (e.g., feeding, chasing, keeping a distance, pet-deer interactions) and provide context to these interactions (e.g., dog walkers, active commuters, outdoor enthusiasts, utility workers).

Finally, we will estimate the transmission rates of SARS-CoV-2 between deer and humans by sampling deer and sequencing positive tests. We will use all of this information to develop and implement an agent-based modeling framework that allows us to predict 1) when and where humans and deer may come in close contact, 2) the context of such interactions, and 3) the risk of transmission.

The recipient must meet the objectives and deliverables stated in their work plan and must complete quarterly financial and performance reports and a final accomplishment report.

Target audience: The project will support decision-makers with data-driven insights for mitigating potential disease transmission between humans and urban wildlife, by identifying pathways of transmission between susceptible groups (hikers, dog walkers, landowners, etc.) and urban deer. This project will also contribute new data streams and surveillance tools to the research community and public health officials that can be adapted to monitor other zoonotic diseases.

There is a subaward to George Mason University (Anderson will support the project with expertise in mobility data science and epidemiological modeling to design and implement an ABM that can capture the zoonotic transmission of diseases from urban wildlife (Obj. 4). She has used these methods to simulate the transmission of disease in human populations (NSF EEID supported). Roess will support the project with expertise in epidemiologic and mixed-methods research to design and implement interviews and surveys to describe human-deer interaction and lead the epidemiologic analysis of human-deer disease transmission (Obj. 3). She has used these methods to guide a study of camel-human interaction in Ethiopia (NSF EEID supported)).

College Park University Of Maryland

10.025 - Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) [USDA]

Maryland United States

State-Wide

USDA APHIS American Rescue Plan: SARS-CoV-2 in Animals (USDA-APHIS-10025-OA000000-23-0001)

COVID-19 $3,644,696 (100%) percent of this Cooperative Agreement was funded by COVID-19 emergency acts including the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.