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 Global health officials are eying the animals as a potential risk
for people after Denmark last week embarked on a plan to eliminate
all of its 17 million mink, saying a mutated coronavirus strain
could move to humans and evade future COVID-19 vaccines.
The U.S. states of Utah, Wisconsin and Michigan - where the
coronavirus has killed mink - said they do not plan to cull animals
and are monitoring the situation in Denmark.
"We believe that quarantining affected mink farms in addition to
implementing stringent biosecurity measures will succeed in
controlling SARS-CoV-2 at these locations," the U.S. Department of
Agriculture told Reuters on Tuesday.
The USDA said it is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, state officials and the mink industry to
test and monitor infected farms.
The United States has 359,850 mink bred to produce babies, known as
kits, and produced 2.7 million pelts last year. Wisconsin is the
largest mink-producing state, followed by Utah.
Sick mink in Wisconsin and Utah were exposed to people with probable
or confirmed COVID-19 cases, the USDA said. In Michigan it is still
unknown if the mink were infected by humans, according to the
agency.
In Utah, the first U.S. state to confirm mink infections in August,
about 10,700 mink have died on nine farms, said Dean Taylor, state
veterinarian.
"On all nine, everything is still suggesting a one-way travel from
people to the minks," he said.
Coronavirus testing has been done on mink that die and randomly on
the affected farms, Taylor said. Like people, some mink are
asymptomatic or mildly affected, he said.
The CDC said it was supporting states' investigations into sick
mink, including testing of animals and people.
"These investigations will help us to learn more about the
transmission dynamics between mink, other animals around the farms
and people," the CDC said. "Currently, there is no evidence that
animals play a significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to
people."
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Coronavirus is thought to have first jumped to humans from animals in China,
possibly via bats or another animal at a food market in Wuhan, although many
outstanding questions remain.
Monitoring U.S. mink for virus symptoms and quarantining infected farms should
limit the disease's spread if cases are caught early, said Richard Webby, a
virologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.
"I'm fairly confident that as long as they have that surveillance going and it's
strong enough, then they should be able to prevent the spread," he said.
U.S. authorities are urging farmers to wear protective gear like masks and
gloves when handling mink to avoid infecting the animals.
In Wisconsin, about 5,000 mink have died on two farms, State Veterinarian
Darlene Konkle said.
One farm is composting the dead mink to dispose of the carcasses without
spreading the virus, Konkle said. Authorities are working with the second farm
to determine how to dispose of the mink, and dead animals are being kept in a
metal container in the meantime, she said.
Michigan declined to disclose how many mink have died, citing privacy rules.
State officials said they are working with the USDA to determine whether farmers
can sell the pelts of infected mink. The pelts are used to make fur coats and
other items.
The coronavirus has also infected cats, dogs, a lion and a tiger, according to
the USDA. Experts say mink appear to be the most susceptible animal so far.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Additional reporting by Carl O'Donnell in
New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman
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