The situation regarding corona infections among mink has now reached a critical stage in North Jutland, Denmark, causing concern that this could lead to a new global pandemic.
Government officials consider the current situation extremely serious, and some even refer to the virus, which has now spread from mink to several individuals in North Jutland, as the Coronavirus 2.0.
To stop the spread and contain the situation, the Danish government has decided that all mink herds must now be put to death, said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at a press conference on Wednesday.
»You are losing your life's work, which in some cases span generations. It is a day of sorrow for you and for all who work in the mink profession. The government is aware of this,« said Mette Frederiksen to the mink farmers.
A mutated coronavirus has made the jump from mink to humans and has since spread among people of North Jutland.
On Monday night, the government received a briefing from the State Serum Institute (red. Statens Serum Institut or SSI), which has concluded tests exposing the mutated coronavirus to antibodies.
According to the SSI, the test results were deeply troubling because the mutated virus didn’t have the desired response to the antibodies, which increases the risk that a future Covid-19 vaccine will not have the sought-after effect if the mutated virus continues to spread.
Another concern is that the virus from mink will cause individuals who have already been infected with the original mutation to be reinfected with the new mutated coronavirus.
»At the present moment, we can’t be sure that a vaccine won’t have the desired effect, but we find cause for concern, which is why we are acting now. It would be a threat to public health if mink farming, as of now, is allowed to continue,« said Kåre Mølbak, Executive Vice President and Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases Preparedness, SSI.
Politicians across the Danish parliament agree that the situation is dire.
»We’re dealing with a threat to our public health, so killing all mink is the only way. It will be a disaster if a new strain of coronavirus spreads across Denmark. The prospect of that happening is deeply, deeply concerning,« said Kirsten Normann Andersen, spokesperson on health from the Danish Socialist People's Party, to B.T.
Due to the gravity of the situation, the Danish government, however, doesn’t find that killing upwards of 16 million mink will be a strong enough response on its own. New restrictions for citizens in several municipalities in North Jutland, aimed at stopping the coronavirus's spread from mink, are therefore about to be declared.
Thus far the new restrictions will affect the municipalities Hjørring, Frederikshavn, Brønderslev, Jammerbugt, Thisted and Læsø.
»We are aware that we’re leaving all of North Jutland with a great deal of uncertainty until tomorrow, and for that, I am very sorry. But this is a matter of life and death, not just in Denmark but across the globe,« said Mette Frederiksen.
The new restrictions will be made public Thursday.
The Danish Agriculture & Food Council considers the government’s intervention »the death blow to mink farming in Denmark.«
»This is the end of mink breeding. All Danish animals, which are among the finest in the world, will be killed. To think that our mink farmers can simply close-up shop for a few years and then start over is naive,« said Thor Gunnar Kofoed, Vice President D, Danish Agriculture & Food Council.
He finds the actions of Mette Frederiksen and the rest of the Danish government to be rash.
»Naturally, we understand the public health considerations at play here. Still, the decision to kill all animals has been made in haste, without involving representatives from the industry, or even making sure that there’s a capacity to transport the dead minks and burn them,« said Thor Gunnar Kofoed.
B.T. has previously reported how the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration throws corona-infected mink on the ground outside the mink farms or leaves them in containers for several days. And in doing so, causing a stench of decay spread across several kilometers because the incinerators cannot keep up with the killing.
