A coronavirus outbreak has killed countless minks in Utah fur farms over a ten-day window beginning in late September, requiring cautionary quarantines at 9 farms in the state.
The infection was likely moved from employees to the animals, though there are no indications that the minks have actually contaminated any people, according to Dr. Dean Taylor, the state veterinarian examining the outbreak.
” We truly do not feel like there is much of a risk going from the mink to the individuals,” Taylor informed the Associated Press.
As many as 8,000 minks have died during the outbreak. Fur from the dead infected minks is still utilized commercially. The pelts are processed to get rid of the virus before being utilized for coats or other clothing devices, according to the Fur Commission USA, a trade group.
No animals have actually been euthanized over their infections, according to Taylor.
It was understood earlier on in the pandemic that mink are vulnerable to the illness after mink was discovered to be contaminated in the Netherlands this spring. Authorities in Spain and the Netherlands had actually butchered thousands of minks this summertime over worries the animals could move the virus to humans, The New York Times reported.
Research out of the Netherlands found that minks are alarmingly susceptible to COVID-19, indicating a particular protein in their lungs that binds to the infection.
Taylor stated the transmission among minks in Utah has actually followed similar spreads in people. Younger minks are less vulnerable, with a lot of deaths happening amongst minks in between one and 4 years of ages.
” Its going through the wiping and breeding nests out the older mink and leaving the younger mink unharmed,” Taylor said.
With Post wires
All PostOctober 9, 2020by adminCOVID-19 outbreak kills thousands of minks on Utah fur farms – New York Post
https://nypost.com/2020/10/09/covid-19-outbreak-kills-thousands-of-minks-in-utah/
