[co-authors: Kim Beane, and Lane Songer]

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Whatever your position on fur coats is, you should be worried about the effect of COVID-19 on the mink industry. As of this writing, the disease has been found on mink farms in nine countries: Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden, Greece, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States. Once on a farm, it spreads quickly, killing hundreds of animals within hours.

In a 12/23/20 article entitled, “Mink and the Coronavirus: What We Know,” author James Gorman, a New York Times science writer, stated that, “Mink are the only animal known to both catch the virus from people and transmit it to them.” And yes, it does mutate in mink, as it does in people.

A Disaster in Denmark

Danish authorities documented several variants of COVID containing mutations that had originated in mink. One of the variants, called “Cluster 5” was thought to be one that would make coronavirus vaccines in the works less effective. This turned out to be incorrect, but was discovered after 17 million animals were culled. Later, the kill order was found to have no legal basis and the country’s prime minister apologized — much too late for the mink and mink farmers who lost their source of income.

Mink Mutations Could Be Catastrophic

In the 12/23/20 article, “The Mink Pandemic Is No Joke” in The Atlantic, Zoë Schlanger noted that, “One mink-associated variant bears the same mutation as the coronavirus variant now spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom; each time such changes happen, there is a risk the virus changes in a way that could make it more dangerous and prolong the pandemic.” As we now know, the UK variant has made its way across the pond to the US and, as of January 3, 2021, the variant has been found in 34 countries.

Why Mink? And How Bad Is It?

So why are mink getting coronavirus in such large numbers? And why are they dying from it? Several animal species are susceptible to the virus, such as ferrets, cats, and mink, and are capable of spreading it to members of their own species. While investigating the mink fiasco in Denmark, Ben Kesslen for NBC News cited Ontario Veterinary College professor Scott Weese as saying that the coronavirus “… attaches well to mink. It’s a very good match.” Unfortunately, once mink contract SARS-CoV-2, it is particularly lethal to them, causing gastrointestinal and respiratory disease, and quickly leading to pneumonia and death.

Coming to America

Currently, mink farms in four US states have been affected. In August, the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories announced the first confirmed cases in mink at two farms in Utah, noting that these were the first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 in mink in the US. The affected farms also reported positive cases of COVID-19 in people who had contact with the mink. Wisconsin and Michigan mink farms were affected in October, and by November, an Oregon mink farm reported cases and was put under quarantine. On December 13, 2020, a mink trapped in the wild near the quarantined Oregon farm tested positive for the virus. According to a recent article, “state and federal wildlife officials” believe the trapped mink may have originally come from the farm and escaped, as opposed to being a “wild” mink, as originally thought. (See Oregon mink trapped in wild tests positive for coronavirus, raising fears of ‘mutant viral strain,’ The Oregonian, 12/25/20)

The Mink Situation Is Not Negligible

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are monitoring the mink situation. On the CDC Website, COVID-19 and Animals, last updated 12/23/20, it states:

· “Based on reports from Denmark, it appears that mink became infected after exposure to people infected with the virus, and the virus then mutated and spread from mink back to humans.

· Currently in the United States, there is no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 spreading from mink to people, but investigations are ongoing….”

The CDC maintains that “Currently, there is no evidence that animals play a significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to people,” but do concede that mink farms may be an exception. “Although for most people in the United States the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection from animals is low, there is a higher risk for people working on mink farms,” and worker safety is critical to protect people and animals on such farms.

A COVID-19 Vaccine for Animals?

In a 12/23/20 Kaiser Health News article, JoNel Aleccia wrote that in late summer 2020, a group of scientists in Colorado inoculated approximately 120 black-footed ferrets, close cousins of mink and among the most endangered mammals in North America, with an experimental vaccine. “The effort occurred months before USDA officials began accepting applications from veterinary drug makers for a commercial vaccine for mink…” Vaccination of susceptible animal species against the virus is important for the animals, as well as people.

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