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Twelve days ago, we took our second look at the spread of COVID-19 across mink farms in the Netherlands (see COVID-19: Back To The Mink Farm). Mink farming in the Netherlands will be banned in 2024, following a Dutch court ruling in 2015.
In my previous report 4 farms had been affected, a spillover into 3 cats had been reported, and there was some evidence that one, possibly two, mink-to-human transmissions had occurred.
Since then, the virus has spread to at least 6 additional mink farms, and last week the Rijksoverheid (National Government) website carried the following order to cull contaminated mink farms.
Cabinet follows advice: clean up contaminated mink farms
News item | 03-06-2020 | 19:15
The mink companies infected with COVID-19 will be culled from next Friday. It now concerns 7 infected companies at 9 locations. The company in Venray is also infected. Minister Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and Minister De Jonge of Public Health have taken this decision on the basis of the advice of the Outbreak Management Team of Zoonoses (OMT-Z) and the Administrative Coordination Consultation on Zoonoses (BAO-Z).
The advice shows that the virus can continue to circulate on mink farms for a long time and can therefore pose a risk to public and animal health. It is planned that all infected companies will be eliminated during the following week.
In addition, the Cabinet is investigating whether, and if so how, a one-off stop scheme can be designed with which mink companies can voluntarily terminate their business operations in the short term.
The removal of the infected farms must prevent a virus reservoir from developing on the mink farms, which could endanger public health. The mink have puppies in the spring. The pups of previously infected mothers have received antibodies that decrease over time, which means that the pups will become more susceptible to the COVID-19 virus in the near future.
Measures non-infected companies
The national measures previously announced for all mink farms in the Netherlands, such as the transport ban and visitor ban in the stables, will continue to apply. In addition, the existing hygiene protocol will be tightened up in the very short term, with attention also being paid to employee testing. The Cabinet is also investigating whether, and if so how, a one-off stop scheme can be designed with which these companies can voluntarily terminate their business operations. This is in the context of a sector that will cease to exist in the Netherlands in 2024.More than two months ago, in Susceptibility of Ferrets, Cats, Dogs & Other Domestic Animals to SARS-CoV-2, we looked at the experimental infection of a variety of farmed animals and household pets with the novel coronavirus. The authors wrote:
We found that SARS-CoV-2 replicates poorly in dogs, pigs, chickens, and ducks, but efficiently in ferrets and cats. We found that the virus transmits in cats via respiratory droplets.Mink are close relatives to ferrets - both being members of the Mustela genus - and have a long history of being susceptible to a variety of novel flu and respiratory viruses (see below).
Nature: Semiaquatic Mammals As Intermediate Hosts For Avian Influenza
That Touch Of Mink Flu (H9N2 Edition)
Vet. MicroB.: Eurasian Avian-Like Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Virus from Mink in China
In-depth summary of reports of naturally acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections in domestic animals and farmed or captive wildlifeThe AVMA also has a detailed web page dedicated to SARS-CoV-2 infection in animals, including dogs and cats.
SARS-CoV-2 in pets
PETS DO NOT APPEAR TO BE EASILY INFECTED WITH SARS-COV-2
During the first five months of the COVID-19 outbreak (January 1 – June 1, 2020), which includes the first eleven weeks following the March 11 declaration by the WHO of a global pandemic, fewer than 20 pets have tested positive, with confirmation, for SARS-CoV-2 globally. This despite the fact that as of June 1, the number of infected people exceeded 6.2 million globally and 1.8 million in the United States.
There have been fewer than 25 reports from around the world of pets (dogs and cats) being infected with SARS-CoV-2; however, none of these reports suggest that pets are a source of infection for people. Evidence to date from the few domestic animals that have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 indicate these infections are typically a result of close contact with people with COVID-19.
In laboratory studies of experimental infection with SARS-CoV-2, ferrets, Syrian hamsters, and cats—all animals that may be kept as pets—show potential for serving as animal models of human infection, but dogs, pigs, chickens, and ducks do not. And, although molecular modeling and in vitro studies suggest that multiple animal species may theoretically be able to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, a definitive intermediate host has not been identified.
There is little to no evidence that domestic animals are easily infected with SARS-CoV-2 under natural conditions and no evidence to date that they transmit the virus to people. The primary mode of transmission of COVID-19 in humans is person-to-person spread.
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