Coronavirus outbreak in mink farms in Europe could be the first known instance of the virus transmitting from animal to humans and animals
After several workers in mink farms in Spain and the Netherlands got infected with the new Coronavirus, it had scientists scratching their heads. Tests conducted in the minks of those farms suggested that even those were infected with the novel Coronavirus. As a result, over a million of the minks were killed.
But until then, there was no documented case of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreading from animals although it was found in cats, dogs, and tigers. Taking the evolving situation into account, scientists are now trying to figure out how minks got infected if they could transmit it to humans.
The general belief is that minks in those farms got the virus from an infected worker and later spread to other humans but officials are still unsure. The Dutch government and researchers are looking into the possibility and if that’s the case how much of a threat it could be.
In the Netherlands, the first cases of minks getting infected emerged.
