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In Denmark, the slaughter of millions of minks provoked a heated political debate; in the end, a minister resigned. Fur farming is a powerful economic factor there and there was probably no legal basis for the slaughter of animals. It was intended to be a protective measure against the spread of a coronavirus mutation that had previously been transmitted to people in individual cases.
A current study shows: These mink mutations can also be detected in other countries. This is what researchers who have evaluated analyzes from an international gene database report. His study, which was uploaded to a prepress server a few days ago, deals with broadcasting. Although the data in such cases has not yet been peer-reviewed, this will still be done.
As researchers led by Lucy van Dorp and François Balloux of the Institute of Genetics at University College London write, an evaluation of genetic analyzes from the Gisaid database has yielded evidence of other mink-derived viruses in humans.
These mutations were previously difficult to find due to the small number of corresponding genetic analyzes. “But between November 5 and 8, Danish researchers uploaded more than 8,000 human-isolated SARS-CoV-2 genomes to Gisaid,” wrote the Institute’s director, François Balloux, in an email to SPIEGEL. “This has led to the identification of more than 300 virus strains that carry the Y453F mutations,” says the researcher.
Distribution channels are incomprehensible
Balloux wrote that the Gisaid data showed mutations in six other countries: four analyzes from the Netherlands showed them, three from Switzerland, two from South Africa, and one from the US, Russia and Australia. A total of 150,000 genetic data sets were examined. In the Netherlands, humans had already been infected by animals in the spring.
Researchers cannot say how many of the cases are due to contact with the animals. The distribution channels are also incomprehensible. Danish samples are from June. The mutated virus could have been transmitted by animal transport, but also by travelers. Because the Gisaid data contains hardly any patient information, no further statements can be made about the route of distribution.
It is not the first time that the coronavirus has been detected in animals. It was found in several species, such as cats, dogs, lions, and tigers. It could easily spread under minks because the animals live together in a confined space on farms. Denmark is the world’s largest producer of mink fur. Around 15 to 17 million fur animals lived there on more than 1,100 breeding farms.
It was previously known that the mutation in the virus apparently affects what is known as a spike protein. The virus enters human cells through these proteins and multiplies there. By the way, these mutations are not limited to virus strains hosted by animals, but occur constantly and also in humans. Several mutations of the virus are already known and allow conclusions to be drawn about its spread (read more about mutations here).
Virus reservoir
The Danish health institute SSI had announced that the mink mutation is no more dangerous to humans than other Sars-COV-2 viruses. But it was feared that the vaccines currently being developed will perform worse against this variant. (Read more about this here).
At the moment, however, it doesn’t seem like it, the journal Nature recently wrote. Some virologists also see no danger so far and consider slaughtering the mink as a precautionary measure.
Because animals can provide a permanent refuge for viruses. Large mink populations in particular offer a reservoir for the coronavirus. This makes it difficult to contain the pandemic in the long term. So it makes perfect sense to ditch this deposit, Balloux told The Guardian.
