Virus World

Denmark, the world's largest producer of mink furs, plans to cull all mink in the country to contain a mutated form of novel coronavirus.  Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Wednesday the decision had been made with a "heavy heart," but it was necessary based on the recommendation of health authorities. "The virus has mutated in mink. The mutated virus has spread to humans," Frederiksen said. Statens Serum Institut, the Danish authority based in Copenhagen which deals with infectious diseases, had found five cases of the virus in mink farms and 12 examples in humans that showed reduced sensitivity to antibodies, she said. Allowing the virus to spread could potentially limit the effectiveness of future vaccines. "We have a great responsibility towards our own population, but with the mutation that has now been found, we have an even greater responsibility for the rest of the world as well," Frederiksen said.

Agriculture minister says origins of outbreak unclear after seven farm workers – and 87% of the mink – test positive. Spain has ordered the culling of nearly 100,000 mink on a farm after confirming many were carrying coronavirus, a regional minister said on Thursday. Joaquin Olona, agriculture minister for the north-eastern Aragon region, said the cull would involve the slaughter of 92,700 mink which are prized for their pelt.

Officials suspect the virus first reached the farm through a worker who passed it on to the animals. But Olona said it was not completely clear if “transmission was possible from animals to humans and vice versa”. In the Netherlands tens of thousands of mink have been slaughtered since the start of the pandemic after 20 farms were found to be infected, the Dutch authorities said earlier this month. The move came after at least two farm workers were found to be infected in May, most likely by the mink, with the World Health Organization saying it could be the first known cases of animal-to-human transmission.

In Spain the mink farm – in Puebla de Valverde, about 100km (60 miles) north-west of the coastal resort of Valencia – has been carefully monitored since 22 May after seven workers tested positive for Covid-19, Olona said. Since then no animals have left the property, which is the only mink farm in Aragon. Officials have since carried out a string of PCR tests which on 13 July showed that 87% of the mink were infected, prompting the decision to carry out a cull “to avoid the risk of human transmission”, Olona said....