Covid-19: mass slaughter after threatening virus mutation in mink in Denmark
Mink farmer in Gjeol, Denmark.
Henning Bagger / Ritzau Scanpix / via REUTERS
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3 min
Denmark will slaughter all of the fifteen million mink raised in its territory because of a mutation of Covid-19 already transmitted to 12 people, which threatens the effectiveness of a future vaccine for humans, announced Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday.
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"
The virus mutated via mink can create the risk that the future vaccine does not work as it should (...) It is necessary to slaughter all the mink
", or 15 to 17 million animals according to the authorities, a said the Prime Minister during a press conference
According to the explanations of the Danish authorities, this mutation does not result in more serious effects in humans, but in a lower effectiveness of human antibodies, which threatens the development of a vaccine against Covid-19.
The mutated virus detected in mink “
does not respond to antibodies as much as the normal virus.
Antibodies still have an effect, but not as effective,
”explained Danish Infectious Disease Control Authority (SSI) head Kåre Mølbak.
"
Continuing to breed mink would involve a much higher risk to public health, both in Denmark and abroad,
" he stressed.
Denmark is the world's largest exporter of mink skins, an activity that has made the fortune of more than a thousand farms in the small Nordic kingdom.
After the first cases of Covid-19 in mink, Copenhagen had already launched a slaughter campaign this summer in infected farms.
The twelve cases of transmission to humans of the mutated virus have been detected in northern Jutland (west), where most of the farms are concentrated.
According to Minister of Health Magnus Heunicke, "
research has shown that mutations may affect current candidates for a vaccine against Covid-19
".
"
It is a threat to the development of vaccines against the coronavirus, that is why we must lead a national campaign
," he insisted.
(With Afp)
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