Around 17 million minks are to be culled in Denmark after a mutated version of coronavirus found on mink farms spread to humans.
“The mutation could pose a risk that coronavirus vaccines won’t work in the way they should, so it’s necessary to cull all the minks.” said Danish Prime Minister Meets Frederiksen.
Covid-19 has been confirmed at more than 200 of Denmark’s 1,000 mink farms, mostly in the Jutland region in the north of the country.
“In a few instances, the minks that were infected by humans have transmitted the virus to other people,” said the WHO. “These are the first reported cases of animal-to-human transmission.”
Coronavirus cases have also been reported at mink farms in the Netherlands and in Spain.