Mink and Staff Infected With COVID-19 at Oregon Farm After Outbreak

A mink farm in Oregon has become the site of a COVID-19 outbreak, with staff catching the virus. There have been outbreaks on farms In Utah and Michigan.

November 29, 2020

mink covid oregon — Image via Getty/ MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN
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COVID-19 has been discovered on a mink farm in Oregon, where it has infected both staff and animals.

According to the New York Post, the USDA’s National Veterinary Service Laboratory has verified the existence of the coronavirus in 10 samples from the farm. The state’s veterinarian, Dr. Ryan Scholz, has instructed the farm to quarantine for an indefinite period of time.

“We have been engaged with the Oregon mink industry for some time, providing information on biosecurity to prevent the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 and were ready to respond,” Scholz said.

“The farmer did the right thing by self-reporting symptoms very early and he is now cooperating with us and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) in taking care of his animals and staff.” He continued, “So far, we have no reports of mink mortalities linked to the virus but that could change as the virus progresses.”

COVID has been discovered on farms in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Utah, where 8,000 minks died from the virus. There have also been outbreaks on farms in the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Spain, and Denmark, where the government ordered a cull of its 17 million mink.

“Mink, which have been infected with corona, are transmitted primarily through breathing, so in this way dead mink infects less than live mink,” Thomas Kristensen, press officer for the Danish National Police, said regarding the country’s outbreak. “But there may still be bacteria in the fur on them.”