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Some animals can be infected with Covid 19 and mink can transmit the virus to humans, but there is no evidence at this point that infection between animals and humans is exacerbating the outbreak, scientists have found. said after Denmark announced the massacre of millions of these animals infected with a new strain of Corona that can transmission to humans.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced the slaughter of all mink in the country, which numbered more than 15 million, saying that a modified version of “SARS-Cove-2” could threaten the effectiveness of any vaccine to the future, who transferred these animals to 12 people.

This announcement had the effect of a bomb on the global media amid a climate of great frustration with the Covid-19, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 1.2 million people in less than year.

But many experts were wary, questioning the truth about the alleged dangers of this infection in the absence of publication of scientific research.

“I would really like this trend of practicing science to be stopped by press releases. There is no reason why genetic data should not be shared to allow the scientific community to assess these claims.” , said Angela Rasmussen, an epidemiologist at Columbia University in New York.

RNA viruses, such as the Corona virus that appeared in China at the end of 2019, are constantly changing, without necessarily having serious consequences. In addition, no scientific study has yet shown that one of the many mutations in “SARS-Cove-2” can alter the extent or severity of the infection.

Also, a mink infection is not new. Besides Denmark, this infection has been detected on numerous farms since June in the Netherlands, the United States and Spain. A few cases of human transmission of mink infection have also been reported.

But Denmark’s announcement goes further, describing the transmission of a different strain of the virus from mink to humans.

“According to information from Danish authorities, this virus is neither the most contagious nor the fiercest form,” Gil Salva, expert at the French Health Agency, “Anas” told AFP.

But the fear is that “this looks like the second virus to be prevalent in humans (…) developing a vaccine for one strain is already complicated, so how about if we have to do it for two, four or six strains “, according to the expert, who explained that the decision to slaughter animals is a” precaution “.

The mutated virus … and vaccine failure

Professor François Ballou of London College said: “This measure is completely justified from a health point of view to eliminate an important source of transmission of the virus”.

However, “the indication of the risk of mink causing the spread of a second epidemic appears extreme and reversible in view of the current tense climate”, according to Palo, who pointed out that there are similar cases of mutation of the virus, but at Small scale.

He continued: “We know that this virus appeared in mink farms and transmitted to humans, its frequency has not increased at all and remains rare in the population”, although he admits that it does not It is not “impossible” for this type of mutated virus to spread and make vaccines less effective.

James Wood, professor of veterinary medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge, said that “the actual effects of the changes” caused by the mutation “have not been evaluated by the scientific community.

He continued: “It is too early to say that this mutation will lead to vaccine failure,” according to what was quoted by the British “Science Media Center”.

In addition to mink, cases of Covid-19 have been identified in other carnivores, including cats, but also dogs, tigers and lions at the New York Zoo.

At this point, “the risk of spreading Covid-19 from animals to humans is very low,” according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

After Denmark’s announcement, the French Academy of Medicine on Friday called on patients to “avoid contact” with their pets.

Rasmussen is concerned about the spread of the virus to non-domestic cats. “Cats are infected and there are millions of feral cats in the United States and millions more around the world,” she said.

“If cats become a permanent reservoir of the virus, we can fight SARS-Cove-2 for years,” she concluded.