Netherlands: minks and coronavirus

Written by David Fletcher 11 Jun 2020
Netherlands: minks and coronavirus

Thousands of Dutch minks became infected with coronavirus and were culled. Researchers are now urging other countries such as Denmark and Spain to test their animals, after infected minks passed the virus on to several mink farmers. The Dutch government says the culling is to prevent farms from becoming long-term reservoirs of Coronavirus. The animals were first infected by their handlers in April. In May, the government identified two cases in which humans had been infected by sick animals - the only animal-to-human transmissions known since the global outbreak began in China. The Humane Society is calling for the 24 countries still allowing mink farming to evaluate evidence from the Netherlands.

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