Escaped infected Danish mink could spread Covid in wild
by Sophie Kevany from Environment | The Guardian on (#5AY16)
Scientists fear fur farm animals in wild could create lasting' Covid reservoir that could then spread back to humans
Escaped mink carrying the virus that causes Covid-19 could potentially infect Denmark's wild animals, raising fears of a permanent Sars-CoV-2 reservoir from which new virus variants could be reintroduced to humans.
Denmark, the world's largest exporter of mink fur, announced in early November that it would cull the country's farmed mink after discovering a mutated version of the virus that could have jeopardised the efficacy of future vaccines.
Around 10 million mink have been killed to date. Fur industry sources expect the fur from the remaining 5 million to 7 million mink will be sold.