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During the week, it has been discovered that mink covid-19 infection can be transmitted to humans in such a mutated way that it may pose a threat to future vaccinations.
The discovery has led to strong measures in Denmark. 14 million minks will be killed, and seven municipalities in the northern part of Jutland will be hit by a rock-hard shutdown when every effort is made to limit mink-related corona infection.
All restaurants are closed. All citizens are urged not to leave their own municipality. The culture and leisure sector, including indoor sports, is being closed.
– This is a real close. A difficult day for those of us who live in these municipalities. The situation is very serious and the eyes of the world are on us, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday.
Available in a nursing home
Twelve people in Denmark have already been infected with the mutated virus known as “Cluster 5”. Eleven of them live in one of the seven municipalities where the infection has been discovered. But the twelfth in a nursing home in Zealand. Several hundred kilometers away.
– It’s a bit mysterious for us, says Kåre Mølbak, an epidemiologist who heads SSI, the Swedish Serum Institute.
But according to Hans Jørn Kolmos, a professor of microbiology at the University of Southern Denmark, the mutated mink virus has already spread even further to northern Jutland.
In an interview with the Danish newspaper Politiken, he states that already this summer a mutated variant of the virus was discovered on Bornholm. It must also have been found in one or more people in Croatia, according to a report SSI and the University of Copenhagen sent to the National Food Administration in September.
– It is very worrying, but it cannot surprise anyone. There has almost been a wide open door, through which people have flown from Eastern Europe to Danish mink farms and vice versa, Hans Jørn Kolmos tells Politiken, according to Omni.
No mutation in Sweden
Denmark is the world’s largest exporter of mink fur with around 1,100 breeders. Sweden, comparatively, only has around 40.
But even in Sweden, the coronavirus is found in mink farms. Nine breeders are affected. However, “only” of the common virus.
– We have not seen the mutation of the virus in Sweden, as has been seen in Denmark, says Håkan Henrikson, chief veterinarian at the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
In an attempt to gain control, all citizens of the seven northern Jutland municipalities are now encouraged to take the test. If someone carries the mutated version of the virus, they must be detected.
– We hope that “Cluster 5” no longer exists. But we don’t do it if that’s the case. That is why it is important that we increase the pace of testing, says Kåre Mølbak at SSI.
TV: South Swedes on Coronavirus
Skåne has introduced new stricter restrictions due to the spread of the coronavirus.
