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No new cases of mink-to-human transmission of the mutated SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, known as Cluster 5, have been recorded since Sept. 15, the Danish Ministry of Health said. On November 18, mink were slaughtered in the country on 284 farms, where animals infected with coronavirus were found.
On November 19, the Danish Ministry of Health announced the continued absence of new cases of human mink infection with a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which is known as Cluster 5.
“Since September 15, there have been no new cases of infection among minks, so the State Serum Institute believes that this variant of the virus has probably disappeared,” says a statement posted on the agency’s website.
The country’s Ministry of Health came to this conclusion after examining the health status of residents of municipalities in northern Denmark, where the mink farms are located. Due to the absence of new cases of transmission of the virus to humans in these regions, it was decided to weaken the quarantine measures as of November 20.
The entire mink population in these municipalities has been eliminated, the statement said.
Denmark is considered the world’s largest producer of mink fur. According to Jyllands-Posten, the country produces annually between 12 and 13 million mink skins; the animals are raised on 1,139 farms.
In April, it became known about an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in mink farms in the Netherlands. In May, a worker’s mink infection was confirmed. The Danish authorities began killing minks in October.
On November 4, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that the entire mink population would be destroyed due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus mutation, which can spread between humans. Later, the government said: there was no legal basis for killing minks, but the situation was “so dire” that they could not wait for the corresponding law to be passed.
On November 18, in Denmark, minks were killed on 284 farms, where coronavirus was found, another 25 farms are under suspicion. reported в Twitter Уthe veterinary and food board of the country. Danish Agriculture and Food Minister Mogens Jensen resigned amid a scandal involving the mass slaughter of animals.
MINKFARME STATE AND COVID-19 11 / 18-20
All # COVID19dk infected mink farms have died. The Danish Food and Veterinary Administration continues to monitor the country’s mink farms for COVID-19:284 mink farms are infected with COVID-19. Of these, 284 died.
25 mink farms are under suspicion. pic.twitter.com/trMViVLSSP– The Danish Food and Veterinary Administration (@Foedevare) November 18, 2020
The decision to end the entire animal population of the country was made after the discovery of a variant of the coronavirus known as Cluster 5. According to the World Health Organization, it is characterized by a combination of mutations or changes not previously observed and more resistant to neutralizing antibodies. This variant of the virus was found in mink in six countries.
An outbreak of coronavirus infection began in late 2019 in China. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the spread of the coronavirus a pandemic.
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