Review: SARS-CoV-2 infection in farmed minks – an overview of current knowledge on occurrence, disease and epidemiology

Abstract

Coronaviruses ( CoVs ), which are enveloped, positive-sense RNA viruses, may cause infections in mammals and birds. Apart from the respiratory manifestations, CoVs are also responsible for infections of the gastrointestinal tract and nervous systems. Their propensity to recombine allows them to easily transmit and adapt to new hosts. The emergence of a new CoV in humans, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2 ), which is attributed to a zoonotic origin, has provoked numerous studies to assess its pathogenicity for different animal species (pets, farm and wild animals). Available results indicate that numerous animal species are susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2. From April 2020, when the first SARS-CoV-2 infection in minks was reported in the Netherlands, to the end of January 2021, further outbreaks have been confirmed in Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the United States, Greece, France, Canada, Lithuania and Poland. It has also been established that human-to-minks and minks-to-human transmission may occur. The results obtained to date indicate that the virus was originally introduced into the minks population by humans, possibly at the start of the pandemic and had been circulating in the population for several weeks before detection. Recent data indicate that minks are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the route or routes of virus transmission between farms, other than by direct contact with infected humans, have not been identified. In minks, infection can occur in clinical and subclinical form, making it possibly difficult to detect. Therefore, minks could represent potentially dangerous, not always recognized, animal reservoir for SARS-CoV-2. The current data indicate that further studies on minks and other Mustelidae are needed to clarify whether they may be a potential reservoir for SARS-CoV-2, and if so, how and whether this can be prevented.

A cross-sectional retrospective study of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in domestic cats, dogs and rabbits in Poland

“…Analysis of the genomic sequence suggested that these dogs were infected by their owners, who also tested positive for COVID-19 [ 14 ]. In addition natural SARS-CoV-2 infection has been reported in other domestic animal species such as cat, ferret and mink [ 13 , 37 ]. Although there is evidence of human-to-cat transmission [ 16 ], current data are not sufficient to definitively confirm the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in the domestic cat population as a result of cat-to-cat transmission, although high susceptibility of these animals has been found in experimental settings.…”

Effects of Spike Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern on Human or Animal ACE2-Mediated Virus Entry and Neutralization

“…It is now increasingly apparent that SARS-CoV-2 has the capacity to infect several animal species besides humans, generating rising concerns that domestic and wild animals may become secondary reservoirs of the virus [5][6][7]. Outbreaks of COVID-19 in hundreds of mink farms in the EU [8], where identification of human-to-mink and mink-to-human virus transmissions [9,10] as well as mink-associated variants led to the culling of over 20 million minks in Denmark, underscored the importance of identifying and assessing the risks associated with the new pandemic for animal and human health [11][12][13][14]. Other animal species, including cats, dogs, ferrets, hamsters, non-human primates, white-tailed deer, mice, cattle, pigs, tree shrews, rabbits, raccoon dogs, and fruit bats, have also been investigated for their susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection [15].…”

Covid-19 Pandemisinin Veteriner Hekimler ve Hayvanlar Üzerine Etkileri

“…Bu durumu takiben, Mayıs 2020' de Avrupa'nın en büyük vizon kürkü üreticisi Danimarka' da ilk vakalar rapor edilmiştir (12). Bu çiftliklerde çalışan işçilerin % 68'inde virüsün pozitif olması veya SARS-CoV-2 antikorlarının saptanması ile Danimarka' da 4 Kasım 2020' de 13.000.000' dan fazla hayvan itlaf edilmiş ve vizon çiftlikleri kapatılmıştır (32,34). Daha sonra, İspanya, İsveç, İngiltere, ABD, Yunanistan, Fransa, Kanada, Litvanya ve Polonya' da da pek çok vaka rapor edilmiştir (26,31,32).…”

“…Daha sonra, İspanya, İsveç, İngiltere, ABD, Yunanistan, Fransa, Kanada, Litvanya ve Polonya' da da pek çok vaka rapor edilmiştir (26,31,32). Ancak, antropo-zoonotik salgınlar sadece vizon çiftliklerinde belirlenmiş ve bu çiftliklerdeki hayvanların tamamı itlaf edilmiştir (34).…”