A wild mink tested positive for coronavirus earlier this month in Oregon, raising some alarms about the mutation potential of the COVID-19 strains.
In a statement, the Oregon Department of Agriculture announced that the mink received a positive test from the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory, confirmed on December 22 after its capture on December 13.
The mink would have only low levels of the virus in its system.
He reportedly escaped from a mink farm in Oregon that has been quarantined since ten samples of mink tested positive for the coronavirus in late November.
A wild mink tested positive for coronavirus in Oregon. In the photo: a mink in Denmark
The mink in Oregon was one of nine animals to escape from a farm where a mink outbreak had already occurred – the other animals have not tested positive. In the photo: a marten in Denmark
Along with the affected mink, three cats and five wild skunks also escaped from the quarantined farm, although none of the other animals tested positive for COVID.
“It is outrageous that an infected mink can even escape from a quarantined fur farm, putting an incalculable range of wildlife at risk of contracting the virus,” Lori Ann Burd, director of environmental health at the Center for Biological Diversity told The Oregonian.
“As much as I expect this case of COVID-19 to be limited to just a mink that they tested in the wild, we know that this virus is highly contagious and that a case grows rapidly for many.”
Burd warned in an opinion column on OregonLive that the infected mink could “not only spread the virus among wild mink, but also give rise to a mutant viral strain that threatens to compromise our newly created vaccines”.
Meanwhile, the problem on the farm itself appears to have been resolved, according to the Department of Agriculture.
Only one of the 62 mink tested positive for coronavirus on December 7 and none did on December 21, meaning that the quarantine is set to end pending the results of a final test round.
“There is no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is circulating or has been established in nature,” reports Dr. Ryan Scholz of ODA. ‘Several animals of different species were sampled, and all others were negative. Even so, we are taking this situation very seriously and continuing to do research and pitfalls near the farm. ‘
Of the minkes that are still on the farm in question, none have had a positive result recently and the quarantine on the farm is almost over. Pictured: a wild mink in Minnesota
The outbreak comes after Denmark ordered 17 million mink to be slaughtered to prevent human infections after 12 cases in the country
Dr. Scholz continued, ‘In addition, we asked the USDA to conduct additional tests on the captured mink, including sequencing the viral genome and a DNA test to ensure that we know exactly where this mink came from.’
The mink on the farm is believed to have contracted the coronavirus from a human being, which is why the ODA has not released the name of the farm; they are protecting an individual’s private health status.
Capital Press reports that there are only 11 mink farms allowed in the state, with eight in Marion County, two in Clatsop County and one in Linn County.
The only states that produce more skin than Oregon are Wisconsin, Utah and Idaho.
Concerns about the mink outbreak in Oregon come in the wake of devastation with the mink community in Denmark.
After 12 people in the country became COVID-19 positive due to exposure to mink, the country ordered that the country’s 17 million mink be killed.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is now apologizing for the decision, however, as dead minks are beginning to emerge from the ground.
There is evidence that the coronavirus has the capacity to mutate, which can negatively affect vaccines being launched worldwide.
South Africa and the United Kingdom are among the countries that have announced new strains of the virus circulating within their respective borders.
The United States, meanwhile, is still trying to control the initial outbreak of COVID-19.
More than 18 million cases of coronavirus have already occurred in the country, with the death toll reaching 330,279 people.
More than 18 million cases of COVID-19 have occurred in the United States since March