Denmark, in an unfortunate decision, has decided to kill every mink in the country to stop the spread of mutated coronavirus to humans. The total estimated population of minks in Denmark is around 15 million.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made the decision public on November 4, 2020. He acknowledged that it was a “heavy decision” but the situation required “resolute action.”
Denmark's Health Minister Magnus Heunicke stated that as per genomic analysis, almost 400 human COVID-19 infection cases in northern Denmark were related to mink farms, which amounts to almost half of all cases. As per Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, around 5 percent of all human infections in the region involve the new mutated variation of the virus.
Why is the mutated variation of the virus a concern?
The new mutated variation of the virus has caused concern because of 12 of the people infected showed less ability to produce antibodies, which could reduce the potential effectiveness of a vaccine.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that as a government, they will do everything they can to contain the spread of the mutated infection and that's why, unfortunately, it’s necessary to put down all minks in Denmark.
Kare Molbak, Director of infectious-diseases preparedness division at Statens Serum Institut said that in a worst-case scenario, there could be a new pandemic that starts all over again from Denmark. Independent scientists, however, have urged caution, as the institute has not yet released full details of the sequencing of the mutation.
Impact
•Denmark has around 15 million minks and minks in about 207 farms have tested positive for the coronavirus.
•Overall, there are more than 1,000 mink farms in Denmark, which produce about 40 percent of the world’s mink pelts.
•Denmark is one of the largest producers of fur in the world, a majority of which is exported to China and Hong Kong.
•Though Denmark plans to compensate the mink farmers, nothing can compensate for the millions of lives that will be lost.
•The government also stated that despite the compensation, it may be difficult for the industry to survive.
Other nations that took similar action
The Netherlands has also killed almost hundreds of thousands of minks since the outbreak of Coronavirus. The nation plans to phase out the mink industry completely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the farms are at the risk of becoming a virus reservoir, risking both human lives and animal health.
Spain also similarly killed almost 100,000 minks in July, citing concerns that they might be able to spread the coronavirus back to humans.
Background
There have been reports of minks contracting coronavirus at farms in the United States. A study by Dutch experts in September 2020 also found it very likely that minks passed coronavirus infections back to employees in the first proven case of animal-to-human transmission.
While the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not consider animals to play a major in the transmission of COVID-19 to humans, minks have been identified as a possible exception.
However, no other country has reported a mink-related mutation that could risk human lives or endanger vaccine efforts.
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