Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Farmed Mink (Neovison vison), Poland.

Lukasz Rabalski,Tarja Sironen,Maciej Kosinski,Kirsi Aaltonen,Teemu Smura,Maciej Grzybek,Ravi Kant,Bogusław Szewczyk

doi:10.3201/eid2709.210286

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiologic agent of coronavirus disease and has been spreading worldwide since December 2019. The virus can infect different animal species under experimental conditions, and mink on fur farms in Europe and other areas are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We investigated SARS-CoV-2 infection in 91 mink from a farm in northern Poland. Using reverse transcription PCR, antigen detection, and next-generation sequencing, we confirmed that 15 animals were positive for SARS-CoV-2. We verified this finding by sequencing full viral genomes and confirmed a virus variant that has sporadic mutations through the full genome sequence in the spike protein (G75V and C1247F). We were unable to find other SARS-CoV-2 sequences simultaneously containing these 2 mutations. Country-scale monitoring by veterinary inspection should be implemented to detect SARS-CoV-2 in other mink farms.

Highlights

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) is the etiologic agent of coronavirus disease and has been spreading worldwide since December 2019
Identifying new species that can serve as animal sources of SARS-CoV-2 and predicting where novel outbreaks are most likely to occur are crucial steps for preventing and minimizing the extent of SARSCoV-2 infections among humans [25]
Recent reports confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in different animal species, including fur animals [26,27]

Summary

Introduction

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) is the etiologic agent of coronavirus disease and has been spreading worldwide since December 2019. The virus can infect different animal species under experimental conditions, and mink on fur farms in Europe and other areas are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Using reverse transcription PCR, antigen detection, and next-generation sequencing, we confirmed that 15 animals were positive for SARS-CoV-2. We verified this finding by sequencing full viral genomes and confirmed a virus variant that has sporadic mutations through the full genome sequence in the spike protein (G75V and C1247F). Considering the recent reports of SARS-CoV-2 infections in mink in other countries in Europe and the high incidence of human SARS-CoV-2 infections in Poland, we monitored SARS-CoV-2 in mink on 1 farm in Pomorskie Voivodeship in northern Poland

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Results

Conclusion