Denmark’s State Serum Institute, which deals with infectious diseases, has found mink-related strands of the novel coronavirus in 214 people since June.
One strain of the mutated coronavirus, which has prompted Denmark to cull its entire herd of mink, has been found in 12 people and on five mink farms so far. Early this week, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the government wants to cull all minks on farms to minimise the risk of the weasel-like mammals’ re-transmitting COVID-19 to humans.
“It is very, very serious,” he said. “Thus, the mutated virus in minks can have devastating consequences worldwide.” The development has prompted fresh measures to stem the spread of the virus; more than a quarter million Danes went into lockdown in a northern region of the country where the mutated variation of the coronavirus has infected minks being farmed for their fur.
People in the region have been urged to to be tested. Denmark is one of the world’s main mink fur exporters, producing an estimated 17 million furs a year. Kopenhagen Fur, a cooperative of 1,500 Danish breeders, accounts for 40 percent of global mink production. Most of its exports go to China and Hong Kong.
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