The first known case of the corona virus novel in captive wild animals has now been confirmed, according to a warning issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A wild mink in Utah tested positive by screening wildlife around fur farms with eruptions.
According to the USDA Division’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory, the strain of the virus in the wild is “indistinguishable” from infected farms across the state.
In the United States, corona virus outbreaks have been documented at 16 mink farms in Utah, Wisconsin, Oregon and Michigan, with the highest incidence in Utah. But so far, despite constant testing of mink, raccoons, squirrels and other animals around farms with infections, no cases of wild mink have been detected.
Utah State Veterinarian Dean Taylor says the infection is “stuck near one of the affected farms” and is the only animal that tests for positivity.
“There is currently no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is in circulation or has been established in the wild population around infected mink farms,” the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Research Service (APHIS) wrote in its warning, using the official name of the virus.
The virus has also been found in captive wild animals such as lions, tigers and snow leopards, as well as domestic dogs and cats. Scientists are involved in the race to determine what other animals might be affected by, with particular focus on endangered species and those that can transmit it to humans. However, until now, no animal in the wild has had it.
“Outbreaks at mink farms in Europe and elsewhere have shown that captive mink are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, and it is not unexpected that they could be infected with the wild mink virus,” said USDA spokeswoman Lindsay Cole. “This finding demonstrates the importance of continuous monitoring around affected mink farms and taking action to prevent the spread of the virus to wildlife.”
It is not clear how wild mink may interact with affected mites on a fur farm.
The USDA says more efforts are needed to prevent the spread of the large North American wild mink population, although it has not announced a strategy to do so.
Mink around the world
Last week, Canada reported the eruption of its first agricultural mink in Fraser Valley, British Columbia. Since this spring, millions of agricultural mink have been killed to control the spread of the virus across Europe, including Denmark, the continent’s largest mink belt maker.
The Netherlands recently completed its four million minking and announced that it had permanently shut down its mink industry. Spain and Greece selected more than 100,000 animals from its affected farms. In those cases, country officials said the mink was believed to have been infected by farm workers.
However, the disease has not always spread from infected farm workers alone. In Denmark, according to genetic analysis, mink-infected farm workers. The virus strain that spreads among those animals is widespread in the community: more than 200 human cases of the virus have been linked to cultured mice, including 12 of which Danish officials are concerned that future vaccine efficiencies could be compromised by the unique variant of the virus.
In that variation the World Health Organization described it as “moderately sensitive to neutralizing antibodies”. As a result, Denmark decided to eliminate its entire mink stake: more than 15 million mink.
“Fur farms in the United States follow strict life-saving protocols for the benefit of humans and animals,” said Mike Brown, a spokeswoman for the International Fur Association, adding that the team was working to obtain more information from the USDA on the wildfire case. . He says the Fur Commission USA, America’s leading fur trade organization, is also working with the industry to develop a corona virus vaccine for mink.
Utah State Veterinarian Dean Taylor says advice for those who care about their pets remains unchanged. “Treat them like they are,” he says. Try to keep them on your property as much as possible, and “stay away from them in your own homes if someone at home is sick.”