Coronavirus identified on two mink farms in the Netherlands
BusinessCorona
April 26, 2020 - By Robin Pascoe
Covid-19 has been confirmed in mink at two fur farms in the Netherlands, the agriculture ministry confirmed on Sunday. The animals were tested after developing a variety of symptoms including breathing difficulties and because there was a higher than normal death rate, the ministry said in a statement.
Officials decided to test the animals after several workers at the two farms were also found to have coronavirus symptoms, although they had not been tested for the disease.
The farms, with over 20,000 mink between them, are in Beek en Donk and in Milheeze, both of which are in Noord-Brabant, the epicentre of the Dutch outbreak and the heart of the Dutch mink industry.
The public health institute RIVM has sealed off an area some 400 metres around each farm to walkers and cyclists as a precautionary measure, while saying there is no risk that the virus could be spread to humans. However, air and other samples are being take to check if the virus is spreading and to find out more about it has moved among the animals themselves. ‘There are currently no indications that pets or farm animals have a role in spreading Covid-19,’ the ministry said.
https://nos.nl/artikel/2331784-coronavirus-vastgesteld-bij-nertsenfokkerijen-in-noord-brabant.html
The report, by the Health Service Journal, refers to an ‘urgent alert’ issued to doctors about the new syndrome, following a rise in cases over the last few weeks.
According to HSJ, the alert said: “[In the] last three weeks, there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multisystem inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK.
“There is a growing concern that a [covid-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK, or that there may be another, as yet unidentified, infectious pathogen associated with these cases.”
The syndrome, which is yet to be named, can cause several unpleasant symptoms, including abdominal pain and cardiac inflammation, according to the report.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/science/urgent-alert-sent-doctors-over-21932006
My first job at 14yo was on a mink farm in Illinois (I got kicked out of school).
Mink are some mean animals and if they get a hold of your finger in their jaws, they do not let go and will tear your finger to shreds.
Now, if they also have the virus, God help the workers.
This is why I wonder if the meat packing problems may be coming from the meat itself. Aren’t they now saying that pigs can catch this virus too?