Virus mutation lockout in Denmark: panic is misplaced

Blockade due to virus mutation in Denmark: scientist warns against scare tactics

North Jutland must be blocked due to mutated corona viruses. Meanwhile, independent researchers criticize those responsible in Denmark: there has been a lack of useful information for a long time.

More than a quarter of a million Danes have to go into “lockdown” on Friday: in North Jutland, where a mutated variant of the coronavirus has infected minks and subsequently spread to people.

In seven municipalities in northern Denmark with around 280,000 inhabitants, sporting and cultural activities will be suspended, local public transport will be stopped and regional borders will be closed. Only people with so-called “critical functions,” such as the police and health officials and various authorities, can cross municipal boundaries, reports the AP news agency.

People in the region are urged to get tested, it is said. Restaurants would have to close on Saturday and fifth graders switched to distance learning on Monday.

On Friday night, Britain announced that it would tighten entry requirements for air passengers from Denmark. Anyone entering the country must be quarantined for 14 days.

The Danish government ordered Wednesday that all the country’s minks, between 15 and 17 million animals, must be euthanized. The so-called Cluster 5 virus can be transmitted from animals to humans, said the Danish health institute SSI (Statens Serum Institute).

The mutated virus is probably no longer dangerous, but there is a risk that the vaccines currently being developed will perform worse against this variant.

Against what are the Danes warning?

“We have to completely destroy this variant of the virus,” Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said on Thursday, adding that the mutated virus had been found in 12 people.

Danish health institute SSI announced on Friday that at least 214 people have been infected with a variant of the corona virus that originally appeared in mink since June. 200 of the cases were detected in the North Jutland region. There are many mink farms in this region. Sars-CoV-2 has already been found in 216 breeding facilities across the country.

Danish experts have warned that continued mink farming poses a significant risk to public health during an ongoing corona pandemic. A large number of mink farms would lead to more infections in humans, and a large number of infected minks would increase the risk of virus mutations, against which the vaccines currently being developed may not protect.

Addressed to the population, it says:

How it began

In June 2020, according to a report by Danish authorities, a spread of Covid-19 infections “with a unique variant of mink” was found at a mink farm in North Jutland. As a result, the virus variant spread to a nearby care facility and to other people. The mutated coronavirus spread to two other mink farms through person-to-person infections.

So far, five different groups or groups of mink variants have been found in Denmark (groups 1-5), according to a report on the SSI website.

Group 5 virus was found in five mink farms and in 12 samples in August and September. 11 of them came from North Jutland and one from Zeeland.

How does WHO react?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been informed by those responsible in Denmark.

WHO representatives told the AP news agency that each case had to be evaluated to determine if the virus behaved differently due to genetic changes.

“We are far, far from making that determination,” said Mike Ryan, WHO’s head of emergencies. He said mutations in viruses happen over and over again.

Francois Balloux, director of the Institute of Genetics at University College London, said Thursday that he did not believe that a strain of virus adapted to mink poses an increased risk to humans.

What do independent scientists say?

the Biologist and Epidemiologist Emma Hodcroft He works at the University of Bern and gave an interview to the German news magazine “Der Spiegel”, which was published online on Friday. The renowned researcher who herself known as a “virus hunter”, criticizes the lack of data and warns against scare tactics.

The Danish Statens Serum Institute reported two mutations in September and October. But whether it is now about these two mutations or if Danish experts have discovered other mutations, he does not know.

In any case, the two mentioned coronavirus mutations were not only known in Denmark. One of them is related to a mutation that makes at least one antibody less effective, but that does not necessarily mean that a vaccine is less effective.

The report (by the Danish authorities) was disappointing: “The announcement has raised concerns and understandably raised a lot of questions from the public – investigators like myself cannot answer now because we lack information.”

The epidemiologist from the University of Bern:

German virologist Björn Meyer also expressed his displeasure via Twitter that Danish authorities had not shared important information for months.

Will the virus weaken on its own?

Viruses are not simply becoming more harmless, even if this has sometimes been portrayed as such, emphasizes epidemiologist Emma Hodcroft in the “Spiegel” interview. HIV is a good example: it has been common among people for decades, and without treatment it still kills people.

Is the coronavirus transmitted to other animals?

The AP news agency quoted Peter Ben Embarek, a WHO food safety expert. He says that initial studies in pigs, chickens and cattle have shown that these species “are not at all as susceptible” as minks, for example. So even if these animals were infected with the coronavirus, “they would not be able to maintain and spread the disease in the same way.”

In principle, many animals can become infected with the corona virus, SRF reported Friday. According to the knowledge table, the list of known cases ranges from primates, hamsters, rabbits, ferrets, and bats to dogs and cats. And: “With intensive farming, infections are transmitted more easily because many animals are very close together.”

Dutch virologist and zoonosis expert Wim van der Poel said more research is needed, but “a reservoir of the virus in mink or other members of the marten family” (Mustelidae) must be avoided.

Denmark is the world’s largest exporter of mink furs, producing an estimated 17 million skins per year.

sources

With material from the SDA-Keystone news agency.