The World Health Organization is studying biosecurity around mink farms in countries around the world to prevent further’ contagion events’ after Denmark ordered a mink slaughter due to an epidemic of coronavirus infections in animals
Maria van Kerkhove, WHO technical officer for COVID-19, told a briefing in Geneva on Friday that transmission of the virus between animals and humans was « of concern »
But she added: « Mutations (in viruses) are normal This type of change in the virus is something we have been following from the start »
The risk was much lower in other farm animals than mink, which appear to be much more susceptible to infection, said a second WHO expert
« We are working with regional offices where there are mink farms, and looking at biosecurity and to prevent spillover events, » van Kerkhove said
Denmark said this week it plans to slaughter its entire mink population and announced strict new lockdown measures in the north of the country to prevent a mutated coronavirus from spreading to animals and humans
He raised concerns that the mutations could affect the potential effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in development
WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan, however, said on Friday it was too early to draw any conclusions about the implications of virus mutations found in mink
« We have to wait and see what the implications are, but I don’t think we should draw any conclusions about whether this particular mutation will have an impact on the effectiveness of the vaccine, » she said. declared
Denmark’s National Serum Institute, which deals with infectious diseases, said a mutated strain of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has been found in at least 214 people and in five mink farms
Kerkhove said Denmark’s decision to slaughter its mink was aimed at preventing the creation of a ‘new animal reservoir for this virus’
Mike Ryan, WHO’s senior emergency specialist, said WHO will complete a risk assessment of the incident and share it with WHO members within hours
It is believed that the coronavirus first passed from animals to humans in China, likely via bats or another animal at a food market in Wuhan, although many questions remain
« This is worrying because mammalian species like mink are very good hosts and the virus can evolve within these species, especially if large numbers are clustered closely together. »
But Ryan added that other farm animals, such as pigs and poultry, have « very strict » biosecurity in place to prevent viruses from crossing the species barrier
The Swedish Ministry of Agriculture confirmed on Friday that authorities detected an outbreak of coronavirus in 10 mink farms in the southern region of Blekinge
Worldwide, more than 4,885 million people are believed to have been infected with the coronavirus and 1,236,320 have died
In Italy, anti-lockdown protesters in a coronavirus-tired country continued to express their anger as regional restrictions were tightened on Friday
Meanwhile, India has registered 47,638 new cases of coronavirus to bring its total to 84 million
The number of deaths increased by 670 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 124,985 on Friday, according to data from the Ministry of Health
Even though the country has seen a steady decline in cases since mid-September, its capital has recorded an increase in infections
New Delhi has recorded nearly 6,700 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the second highest peak in a day since the start of the pandemic
In more positive news, Belgian authorities are reporting a slowdown in COVID-19 infections, giving hope that the country – which still has one of the highest infection rates in Europe – could have surpassed the peak of the second wave of the pandemic
Yves Van Laethem, member of the Belgian committee specializing in COVID-19, said: “For a few days now we can, fortunately, see the figures going in the right direction, we can finally start to trace the peak of this second wave «
Coronavirus, mink, World Health Organization, fur farming
Global news – AU – WHO surveys mink farms around the world after epidemic of COVID
