The coronavirus has killed about 10,000 mixes in Utah


A mink released from a breeding facility in the East German city of Grabo in October 2007 by an unknown group.

A mink released from a breeding facility in the East German city of Grabo in October 2007 by an unknown group.
Photo: Jane Sloater / DDP / AFP (Getty Images)

It seems that the death of Kovid-19 is not the only threat to human life. In recent weeks, the state of Utah has been dealing with mass dysfunction at a mink farm, which health officials believe is linked to a viral epidemic that began with contact with potentially infected human caregivers. Yet, about 10,000 mink in Utah are believed to have died during the outbreak over a two-week period.

The deaths are concentrated in nine fur farms in the state, according to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF). UDF veterinarian Dean Taylor before he died Said According to NBC News, these mints experience respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath or runny nose and discharge from the eyes, similar to what happens to people sick with Covid-19. Like people, older pieces seem more likely to die from coronavirus, he added.

For months, scientists have known that ferrets, like mink and other neil, can be infected with the coronavirus that causes covid-19, and they can catch it from infected humans. Unlike cats, dogs, and other animals that have been infected with the virus through human contact, Neil is particularly vulnerable to more serious illness. That’s one of these animals Useful model In the lab to study viruses outside Petri dishes, but made it a simple target for viruses in the real world.

Indeed, the Utah outbreak is not the first in mink farms. Earlier outbreaks in the Netherlands and Spain Asked There officers pull more than 1 Million mix to prevent further spread of infection. So far, no mints have been killed in Utah as a precaution during the recent outbreak, although the affected farms have enacted a quarantine law. UDF It is also working with disease control and prevention centers and other federal agencies to provide more personal protective equipment and training to farmers working with monks in the state.

The outbreak is terrible Has been For the mink industry, people feel less risky. Although people can spread the virus to mink and other animals, these animals are at risk of spreading the infection to other infected people. Thought According to the CDC, very low.

That said, the original strain of corovirus that has become responsible for Covid-19 may have come from an unknown animal source, possibly bats.

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