| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Contact: Michael Whelan |
| April 26, 2020 | 541-595-8568 |
| mw@furcommission.com |
COVID-19 Found on Dutch Mink Farm
MEDFORD, OR – Three mink on a Dutch mink farm have tested positive for covid-19, and a second Dutch farm is assumed to be infected with covid-19 as well.
The Dutch Agriculture Ministry said the mink on the farms were believed to have been infected by employees who had the virus. One employee has tested positive, while others have shown symptoms of covid-19.
Based on information from the Dutch Centre of Infectious Disease Control, the Dutch authorities stressed that transmission from animals to humans is considered highly unlikely. Mink, and other animal species, have always been known to be susceptible to human influenza, but there are no verifiable cases of mink–to-human viral transmission.
The Dutch authorities are now taking blood samples from animals on the farms in question in order to test for anti-bodies. This information can also be important for understanding the human pandemic better. Results are expected by the end of May, and interim results may be published in between.
The towns where the farms are located, Germert-Bakel and Laarbeek, are both in the southern Noord Brabant province of the Netherlands which has seen the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak. Other cases of coronavirus have been reported among pets and zoo animals around the world after the virus spread among people.
Fur Commission USA has issued advice and guidelines to all mink producers on how to keep their herds safe. Until more is known about the virus, those showing symptoms of infection should restrict contact with pets and other animals, just as you would restrict contact with other people.
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