Denmark to cull all its minks over mutated coronavirus

Dead minks being collected for disposal in Denmark. The country is culling all of its minks after a mutated version of the coronavirus was detected at mink farms and had spread to people.
Dead minks being collected for disposal in Denmark. The country is culling all of its minks after a mutated version of the coronavirus was detected at mink farms and had spread to people. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

COPENHAGEN • Denmark, the world's biggest producer of mink fur, is to cull all of the country's minks after a mutated version of the coronavirus was found at mink farms and had spread to people.

The mutation "could pose a risk that future (coronavirus) vaccines won't work the way they should," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a press conference on Wednesday. "It is necessary to cull all the minks."

Denmark's police chief Thorkild Fogde has said the culling would start as "soon as possible", but conceded that with 15 million to 17 million minks spread over 1,080 farms, it would be "a very large undertaking".

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the coronavirus spreads primarily through human-to-human transmission, but that "there is evidence of transmission at the human-animal interface".

Several animals - including dogs and cats - have tested positive for the virus and there have been reported cases at mink farms in the Netherlands and Spain, as well as in Denmark. "In a few instances, the minks that were infected by humans have transmitted the virus to other people. These are the first reported cases of animal-to-human transmission," the WHO said in a statement sent to AFP.

The coronavirus has been detected at 207 Danish mink farms, including some cases with a mutated version that has been confirmed to spread back to humans.

The health authorities have also concluded that the mutated virus "is not inhibited by antibodies to the same degree as the normal virus". "Studies have shown that the mutations may affect the current candidates for a Covid-19 vaccine," Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said. "It is a threat to the development of coronavirus vaccines. That is why it is important that we make a national effort," he added.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 06, 2020, with the headline Denmark to cull all its minks over mutated coronavirus. Subscribe