The pandemic coronavirus has made its way to two mink farms in Utah, leading to “unusually large numbers” of dead animals, according to a Tuesday announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
These are the first reported cases of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which infects mink in the country. For months, authorities in European countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark, and Spain, have reported outbreaks in mink fur farms, leading to the extinction of more than a million of the soft, resinous mammals. From laboratory experiments it is also clear that ferrets, a relative of minks, are also easily infected with the novel coronavirus.
The affected farms in Utah reported cases of COVID-19 in people working on the farms, who may have spread the infection to the animals.
There are concerns that some mink may have asymptomatic infections and may act as a reservoir, continuing to spread the virus to other mink and, possibly, to humans. Authorities in the Netherlands have reported that farm workers may have contracted the virus from infected mink. However, the evidence is not definitive and, even though the virus can jump from mink to humans, it is unclear how easily that happens.
“There is currently no evidence that animals, including mink, play a major role in spreading the virus to humans,” the USDA said in its announcement. “Due to current limited information, the risk of animals spreading SARS-CoV-2 to humans is considered low.”
Dean Taylor, the state veterinarian of Utah, told The Washington Post that initially the affected mink farms have no plans to kill their animals.
“We do not feel we have enough information to make that decision at this point,” Taylor said. “Most of these farms already have good biosecurity. I do not think they have to worry unreasonably, but we all need to take it seriously. ”
The infections were first noticed earlier this month after large numbers of animals on the farms began to die. Initial inspections suggested they had died of severe pneumonia similar to those seen in Europe, Tom Baldwin, a veterinary pathologist at Utah State University, Logan, told Science. The magazine notes that there are 245 mink farms in 22 states, according to Fur Commission USA, the country’s largest association of mink farmers. More than a dozen of those farms are in Utah.
