Seven countries are now reporting mink-related SARS-Co-2 mutations in humans, according to a new scientific analysis.
The mutation is known as the Covid-19 mink variant, as it is frequently found in mink and now also in humans.
Uncertainty about the effects of the discovery of the Covid-19 mink variant in humans led Denmark, the world’s largest mink fur manufacturer, to launch a nationwide total earlier this month.
The cool was initiated by research from the Staten Serum Institute (SSI), a Danish public health organization, which showed that a mink variant named C5 was tough for antibodies and posed a potential risk to vaccine effectiveness.
All cases of mutation related to mink have been reported in Denmark, the Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, ND, Faroe Islands, Russia and the US.
The kalash continues despite the political backlash, and farmers have until midnight on Thursday to cut all the mink in the country. However, tensions have forced the resignation of Danish Agriculture Minister Mojens Jensen.
SSI director Carrie Mulbeck has also said she will resign. It was SSI’s findings on the effectiveness of the reduced antibody that led to the total order. Mulbeck told local media that he is retiring because he is 65 years old and denied that he is related to Mink Total.
So far there have been no widespread reports of mink variants in humans outside of Denmark. But scientists who uploaded virus sequencing and variant information to global database initiative Gisad said signs of mink variants have been found around the world.
“We knew there were these mink variants in seven countries, but we only had about 20 genomes each, very few. Then last week Dennis uploaded 20,000,000 genome sequences and with that we were able to identify ink00 or more mink variant Y453F in a virus that infects humans in Denmark, ”said Director of the University College London (UCL) Genetics Institute.
Asked about the implications of the findings, Ball Lakes said it was an indication of the need to clay farm mink. “Larger host reservoirs mean more infections in humans. The main point here, I think, is that while change may not be scary, there are still many good reasons to get rid of the mink reservoir. We just don’t need it. “In Denmark, he added, they have a lot of mink,” three times more than humans. “
The extent of the Danish mink-related mutation is evident in the Gizaid database. Seshadri Vasane, a professor at the University of York who analyzed the database of mink variants, said Denmark has 329 F-variant sequences, which maps approximately many people, although there may be some duplicates. “There are six in the Netherlands. South Africa and Switzerland and Bay, while the Faroe Islands, Russia and Utah. [US] One is one. ”
Asked how the spread would have been, Vasan said that if some of the human and mink F-variants collected in Denmark in June were among the specimens given, it could be that “the movements of people, animals or goods could spread in the F-variant. Other countries “.
But because the Gaside database only contains information on patch patients and no travel history – and some samples lack collection dates – he said it is impossible to say exactly how and when the spread occurred, although local scientists put it better. Will come. To understand.
Last month, Vasan and his team published a global model of improving the collection and distribution of D-identified patient information in bids to improve data quality.
Viruses are known to mutate, but variables alone do not have to be a problem. Most importantly, UCL’s microbiologist Prof. “We still don’t know if this change happened in mink or in humans first,” said Joan Santini.
In a joint email to the Guardian this week, Santini and UCL associate professor Sarah Edwards, a bioathistist, said the spike protein was not likely to pose a serious risk to the expected effectiveness of the current candidate vaccine, SARS-CO-2Y453F. Health hazards “do”.
If, however, the variation originates and spreads to humans, “then we must doubt our ability to find or otherwise break out in otherwise largely contained farm animals”.
Constant change can also be a cause for concern. The email added that “several additional types of spike proteins may actually have implications for how contagious the virus is to humans and animals”, potentially “new risks to the expected effectiveness of our candidate’s vaccines”.
“Preliminary observations by CSIRO [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation] Scientists have suggested possible effects for the widespread spread of SARS-Co-2 variants between humans and animals, ”he said.
Denmark is the only country to order a nationwide mink total, however, with the Netherlands, Spain and most recently Greece killing the mink with Covid-19. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that mandatory mink testing had begun in Poland, despite fears from the industry that the tests could lead to a nationwide scandal.
Towards business, there has been an immediate impact on the Danish clan. Last week, the Danish Breeders’ Association and the world’s largest fur auction house, Copenhagen Fure, announced a “controlled shutdown” over the next three years, while Danish thinktank estimates that the mink farm will be closed at about DKK3 bean (m 360m). .
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