By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

In a follow-up on the SARS-CoV-2 mink-associated variant strain in Denmark, the Statens Serum Institut (SSI) reports there has been a marked decrease in the number of persons residing on mink farms infected with SARS-CoV-2, while at the same time, the strain is infecting more of society in the general community.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

According to SSI, the number of new infected persons associated with mink production fell to 28 in week 48 against 138 in week 47. Of the 28 infected, 3 were in the North Jutland Region, 10 in the Central Jutland Region and 12 in the Southern Denmark Region.

Finally, there were 3 covid-19 infected with connections to the same mink herd in Region Zealand.

Some of the new infected are not associated with covid-19 infected mink herds or mink herds in the killing zone. According to SSI, this means that there may have been SARS-CoV-2 in some of the herds that were not subject to restrictions.

“Therefore, there may be breeding animals left on these herds, as well as killed mink for fur that have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the time they were killed,” says department head Tyra Grove Krause from SSI. She continues:

“As a result, staff at the fur series may have been exposed to infection. That could explain why there have been covid-19 outbreaks on six large and two smaller fur series. But that, of course, is just one of several possible causes that are currently being investigated. ”

SARS-CoV-2 and mink variant in the community

In North Jutland, the number of detected cases of SARS-CoV-2 in society has fallen from 817 in week 44 to 268 in week 48. At the same time, however, the proportion of cases with the mink variant has increased from 17% in week 44 to 31% in week 47.

In In the Central Jutland Region, the number of newly detected SARS-CoV-2 cases has fallen slightly from 1,720 new cases in week 47 to 1,528 in week 48. Of these, mink variants accounted for 31% in week 46 and 32% in week 47.

In the Region of Southern Denmark, the number of SARS-CoV-2 cases also decreased slightly from 1,454 new cases in week 47 to 1,296 new cases in week 48. Of these, mink variants of SARS-CoV-2 accounted for 11% in week 46 and 21% in week 47.

“However, the proportion of mink-related cases of covid-19 is probably underestimated in the region, as there have been examples of infection with new virus types that are not closely related to the mink variant. We do not yet know the extent of these types, because we are currently working to include these in our analyzes, ”says Tyra Grove Krause.