Utah, Wisconsin and Michigan, where coronavirus killed mink, say they don’t plan to slaughter animals
Chicago:
More than 15,000 mink in the United States have died from the coronavirus since August and authorities are keeping a dozen farms in quarantine while they investigate the cases, state agriculture officials have said.
Global health officials see animals as a potential risk to people after Denmark last week embarked on a plan to wipe out all of its 17 million mink, saying a mutated strain of coronavirus could become move to humans and escape future COVID-19 vaccines.
The U.S. states of Utah, Wisconsin and Michigan – where the coronavirus killed mink – said they did not plan to slaughter the animals and were monitoring the situation in Denmark.
“We believe that quarantining affected mink farms in addition to the implementation of strict biosecurity measures will help control SARS-CoV-2 in these locations,” the US Department of Defense told Reuters on Tuesday. Agriculture.
The USDA said it was working with the United States 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 raised to produce babies, called kits, and produced 2.7 million skins last year. Wisconsin is the largest mink producing state, followed by Utah.
Sick mink in Wisconsin and Utah have been exposed to people with probable or confirmed cases of COVID-19, the USDA said. In Michigan, it is still unclear whether the mink were infected by humans, according to the agency.
In Utah, the first US state to confirm mink infections in August, about 10,700 mink have died on nine farms, said Dean Taylor, state veterinarian.
“Of the nine, everything still suggests a one-way ticket from people to mink,” he said.
Coronavirus tests have been carried out on dying and random mink on affected farms, Taylor said. Like humans, some mink are asymptomatic or mildly affected, he said.
The CDC said it supports state investigations into sick mink, including testing on animals and people.
“These investigations will help us learn more about the dynamics of transmission between mink, other animals around farms and humans,” the CDC said. “Currently, there is no evidence that animals play a significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to humans.”
The coronavirus is believed to have first passed to humans from animals in China, possibly via bats or another animal at a food market in Wuhan, although many questions remain.
Monitoring American mink for symptoms of the virus and quarantining infected farms should limit the spread of the disease if cases are caught early, said Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
“I’m pretty convinced that as long as they have this surveillance and it’s strong enough, they should be able to prevent the spread,” he said.
US officials are urging farmers to wear protective gear such as masks and gloves when handling mink to avoid infecting the animals.
In Wisconsin, about 5,000 mink died on two farms, state veterinarian Darlene Konkle said.
A farm compost the dead mink to dispose of carcasses without spreading the virus, Konkle said. Authorities are working with the second farm to figure out how to get rid of the mink, and the dead animals are kept in a metal container in the meantime, she said.
Michigan refused to disclose the number of dead mink, citing confidentiality rules.
State officials said they are working with the USDA to determine whether farmers can sell the infected mink skins. The hides 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 sensitive animal to date.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
