Denmark - Coronavirus detected in 289 mink farms - All Danish mink (15-17 million) must be killed because coronavirus has mutated and has spread to humans - 12 people registered with the mutated virus. September 16 -

[Gert van der Hoek]

Minister: Alarming that the mink variant has affected people outside the industry

Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Mogens Jensen calls it alarming that people without a connection to the mink industry have been diagnosed with coronavirus that can be traced back to mink.

It is in itself alarming that people completely unrelated to the mink profession have been infected with coronavirus by the variant that is carried back mink.

This is the opinion of Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Mogens Jensen (S), who now relates to the ministerial response from Tuesday, where it appears that at least four people without affiliation are infected with the mink variant .

In this connection, it is important to emphasize that there are probably more than the four, as it is far from all positive corona tests that are examined in more detail for which variant it is.

"In the government, we attach great importance to public health, and therefore we listen carefully to the recommendations we receive from our health and veterinary authorities, and according to the Statens Serum Institut, this particular form of virus can, in the worst case, risk putting the entire vaccine program

The relatively low number of people outside the mink industry infected with the mink variant has led the opposition to criticize the government's mink strategy.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Professor punctures fear of corona mutation in mink

When we have a vaccine that works, we will probably have to get a handle on any mutations that could originate from mink, says the professor of infectious diseases.

One of the authorities' heaviest arguments for killing millions of both healthy and sick mink is the fear that the coronavirus could mutate.
This makes it difficult to make a vaccine that has an effect, the argument goes.

But if you ask Jens Lundgren, professor of infectious diseases at Rigshospitalet, there is not much to fear.
"With all due respect to Denmark as the navel of the world, the minks are not the problem for this virus in that it is a pandemic", the professor told TV Avisen on Thursday morning, where he continued: "There may be a need to change the composition of the vaccine when it (the vaccine, ed.) Works if the virus has changed slightly".

"However, it is not the question at the moment, it is more the question of whether the candidates for a vaccine we have right now are working or not. If they work, we will probably have to keep track of it with the mutations, and then Danish mink are not the problem at the moment. These are completely different challenges facing the world community ".

[Gert van der Hoek]

Update November 1 2020 : Total infected mink farms 183

[Gert van der Hoek]

"The industry estimates that up to 7 mill. mink are currently located in the killing zones. Thus, half of all mink farms in Denmark must be emptied of animals, and the situation is still developing daily with outbreaks of new mink farms".

Food Minister Mogens Jensen maintained at a consultation on Thursday that the government's killing strategy is necessary.
"It has been proven that mink with covid-19 can infect humans, and it poses a threat to public health," assesses the Statens Serum Institut. Viruses can mutate in the mink and from there spread to humans and potentially weaken the effect of future vaccines, "said Mogens Jensen at the consultation.

[Gert van der Hoek]

The number of mink breeders who have to kill their mink due to coronavirus continues to rise.

Coronaviruses have now been found on a total of 191 mink farms, while 209 farms are within a radius of 7.8 kilometers from an infected farm.

This is stated by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.

This means that the minks on a total of 400 of the country's 1138 mink farms must or have been killed immediately. This corresponds to every third mink farm in the country.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Update November 3 2020 : Total infected mink farms 197

[Gert van der Hoek]

Nov 3, 2020

Six new mink farms infected with covid-19

The latest statement from the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration shows that there are now 197 Danish mink farms infected with coronavirus.

Thus, the number has increased with six new farms since Monday, when 191 farms were found infected.

In addition, there are still 28 more farms that are suspected of being infected.

[Gert van der Hoek]

According to the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, the latest development is that infection has currently been found on 207 mink farms. 67 mink farms have had their herds killed, and 23 mink farms are under suspicion.

[Gert van der Hoek]

The government has decided that all mink herds must be killed.

Ekstra Bladet experiences this from several sources prior to a press conference with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) on Wednesday at 16.
Earlier Wednesday, Politiken wrote that a note from the Statens Serum Institut - which has not been published - shows that infection with covid-19 from mink can mutate in humans to a degree that can be a threat to future vaccines.

The memo has not been published yet, but it was sent to the Ministry of Health on Tuesday.

According to the newspaper, this shows that coronavirus in ten people from North Jutland who have been infected with mink has changed so much that it may pose a danger to future efforts against the virus.

The Prime Minister's Office convenes a press conference on the situation with covid-19 infection in mink and the handling of it. It happens after increasing infection on mink farms.

[Gert van der Hoek]

TV2 thus learns that at the press conference at 4 pm it will be presented that all mink must be killed. The background is that there has been a mutation that could harm a future vaccine.

The news comes on top of several months where Danish mink farms have been closed down by corona. This has meant that thousands of mink have been killed.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister's Office announced that it was convening a press conference at 4 pm to deal with the spread of the infection.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) has been in isolation since the corona outbreak at Christiansborg. She will therefore, together with the other participants, attend the press conference virtually.

According to Politiken, the press conference will be about the authorities fearing that mutations of the virus in mink and subsequent infection to humans could pose a danger to future vaccines.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S) says at a press conference that all Danish mink must be killed because coronavirus has mutated among mink and has spread to humans.

There are currently 12 people registered with the mutated virus.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Several different mutations

SSI says that the new mutated virus has been studied, and this is a cause for concern.
- It is not inhibited by antibodies to the same degree as the normal virus. The antibodies still have some effect, but are not as effective.

thanks to https://twitter.com/RuneLinding

[Gert van der Hoek]

Denmark to cull entire mink population after coronavirus mutation spreads to humans


COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark will cull its mink population of up to 17 million after a mutation of the coronavirus found in the animals spread to humans, the prime minister said on Wednesday.

Health authorities found virus strains in humans and in mink which showed decreased sensitivity against antibodies, potentially lowering the efficacy of future vaccines, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a press conference.

“We have a great responsibility towards our own population, but with the mutation that has now been found, we have an even greater responsibility for the rest of the world as well,” she said.

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“The worst case scenario is a new pandemic, starting all over again out of Denmark,” director at the State Serum Institute, Kare Molbak, said. The new strain showed diminished sensitivity towards antibodies, he added.

“That’s why we have to take this extremely seriously,” Molbak said.

Minks have also been culled in the Netherlands and Spain after infections were discovered.

Authorities had registered five cases of the new strain on mink farms and 12 cases in humans.

There are between 15 million and 17 million mink in Denmark, authorities said.

[Gert van der Hoek]

All mink must be killed as a result of COVID-19

The Statens Serum Institut has found a mutated form of corona virus in mink. It poses such a serious danger to public health that the government has decided that all mink in Denmark must be killed. (Article published by coronasmitte.dk)

News , Published: November 4, 2020

The mutated form of the virus that Statens Serum Institut has found, showed reduced sensitivity to antibodies and it is a variant of the virus that can migrate from mink to humans. There is a risk that a future vaccine will not have an effect on the mutated form of virus.

And there is a risk that the mutated form of the virus could spread to other countries.

Therefore, the government has decided that it is necessary to kill all mink in Denmark, including the breeding animals, even though it is a serious decision for the country's mink farmers. At the same time, the authorities will announce a number of additional restrictions tomorrow, which will apply to the population in a number of municipalities in North Jutland and Himmerland.

The Government has therefore decided that the situation is now so serious that both the infected herds and the herds in the immediate vicinity of the infected herds must be killed.

Efforts to kill mink throughout the country will be coordinated through the National Operating Staff (NOST). The police and the Armed Forces, together with the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, will intensify the killing of the animals.

Mink breeders who kill their animals themselves will receive increased compensation.

[Gert van der Hoek]

See also: Denmark - SSI Risk Assesment of human health in continued mink breeding