‘Mutated’ coronavirus at mink farms shuts down northern Denmark

Scientists warned new mutation could spark a new global pandemic and render current vaccine developments obsolete.

Health experts fear COVID-19 mutation passed from mink to humans in Denmark could spark a new global pandemic. Picture: Mads Claus Rasmussen/AFP

A “very very serious” mutated version of coronavirus has been found in mink farms in northern Denmark, prompting an urgent cull of millions of minks and an emergency lockdown of 280,000 residents of areas north of Jutland.

Scientists have warned that the new mutation could spark a new global pandemic and render current vaccine developments obsolete.

Danish prime minister Mette Fredicksen said the coronavirus mutation could impact the effectiveness of vaccines currently in development and warned “the eyes of the world are upon us” as she announced new emergency measures.

So far, 11 people in northern Jutland and one in Midtsjælland have been detected with the mutated strain of COVID-19 that appears to have been transmitted from mink to humans.

A sign in Danish language reads “No access, risk of COVID-19 infection” at a mink farm in Hjorring, in North Jutland, Denmark. Picture: AFP

“From tonight, citizens in seven areas of north Jutland are strongly encouraged to stay in their area to prevent the spread of infection,” Ms Frederiksen said, announcing a “total closure” including a travel ban in or out of the region and immediate closure of bars and restaurants.

“We are asking you in north Jutland to do something completely extraordinary.”

Ms Frederiksen described the situation as “very, very serious” as Danish police and the army were called in to help farmers destroy the animals.

She cited a government report which said the mutated virus weakened the human body’s ability to form antibodies, potentially making the current vaccines under development for COVID-19 ineffective.

“We have a great responsibility towards our own population, but with the mutation that has now been found, we have an even greater responsibility for the rest of the world as well,” she said.

On Wednesday the Danish government confirmed more than 17 million animals on more than 1000 mink farms would be slaughtered after culling began last month. But the reasons for the mass elimination of the mink were only explained by Ms Frederiksen on Thursday after the mutated virus was confirmed by the Statens Serum Institute (SSI).

The Danish Minister of Health, Magnus Heunicke, said there was no guarantee that the new mutated strain of coronavirus had not already spread to other parts of the country. But he said there was no reason to believe the new variant was more contagious than any other mutated form of the virus.

He explained the problem was whether the mutated form would impact the effectiveness of the new vaccines that were poised to be approved in the coming months.

We are aware of reports from #Denmark of a number of people infected with coronavirus from mink, with some genetic changes in the virus. We are in touch with the Danish authorities to find out more about this event. #COVID19

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 5, 2020

SSI director of infectious diseases, Professor Kåre Mølbak, warned: “The worst-case scenario is that we would start off a new pandemic in Denmark. There’s a risk that this mutated virus is so different from the others that we’d have to put new things in a vaccine and therefore it would slam us all in the whole world back to the start.’’

Scientists believe the mink variant mutation is a change in the spike protein of the Sars-Cov-2 virus.

Mink is farmed mainly in China, Denmark, the Netherlands and Poland and fur farms have reported outbreaks of coronavirus among the animals, believed to have been caught from infected humans over the past few months.

But it is now that the virus has passed from minks to humans, with the mutation, that has caused alarm.