Mink is the host of Covid-19？ Spain and the Netherlands have killed more than 1 million minks.

　　Overseas network August 3 rd COVID-19 outbreak broke out in mink farms in Spain and the Netherlands a few days ago. To prevent the virus from spreading further, as of July 30, the two countries had killed more than 1 million minks. The latest research shows that Covid-19 may be transmitted to humans through mink infection, and may even spread in both directions between humans and minks. At present, scientists are studying the authenticity and danger of this infection chain.

　　Wim Felhagen, director of the Dutch Federation of Fur Farmers, said that the Netherlands is the fourth largest producer of precious fur in the world, with about 160 mink farms. There are 38 mink breeding projects in Spain, most of which are in the northwest of Galicia.

A mink on the river in the northwest of Minsk, Belarus (Source: Associated Press)

　　Mink farming has brought huge profits to the Netherlands and Spain, but it has also aggravated the outbreak. According to Fox News, it is estimated that 90% of the minks in Aragon, northeastern Spain, are infected with Covid-19, and the authorities have ordered the killing of more than 92,000 minks. Some farm workers are suspected to have been infected with mink in Covid-19, but officials have not confirmed this statement. Joaquin Olona, head of the agriculture and environment department in valverde, Spain, said that at the end of May this year, the owner and seven workers of a mink farm near the town were diagnosed with COVID-19, and a serious epidemic broke out in the farm. Two other employees were infected during the quarantine period.

A fur farm in Litusovo village, northeast of Minks, Belarus. (Source: Associated Press)

　　After the Dutch epidemic broke out in April this year, Wim Vanderbilt, a veterinary professor who studies viruses at Wageningen University and Research Center, found that the virus strains in animals are similar to those that spread in humans. Vanderbilt said, "We suspect that the virus can be transmitted back to humans", which is at least possible to be verified in the two workers who were infected later.

　　Richard Osterfield, a researcher at Cary Ecosystems Research Institute in Millbrook, new york, said that if this statement is confirmed, it will be the first known case of animal transmission in Covid-19. Osterfield said in an email to the Associated Press, "The signs that minks in these farms infect human Covid-19 show that we must pay attention to domestic animals and whether they may infect humans after being infected."

　　Who also pointed out that the virus transmission in mink farms is likely to be two-way. However, Dr Maria Van Kirchhoff of the agency said at a press conference last month that the scope of such communication was "very limited". Dr. Kirchhoff mentioned that the outbreaks in mink farms in the Netherlands and Denmark "let us know which animals are susceptible to infection, which helps us to know more about the potential hosts in Covid-19."

　　At present, Spain and the Netherlands have strengthened the hygiene standards of mink farms, and banned the transport of minks and visits to places where minks are kept. According to data from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Bureau, more than 1.1 million minks have been killed in 26 farms with epidemic records. (Overseas Network/Zhang Qi Internship Compilation/Li Yuyu)