France is in turn for the first time to detect the presence of Covid-19 in a mink farm, in Eure-et-Loir, the ministries of Agriculture, Health and Ecological Transition announced on Sunday.
"The slaughter of all 1000 animals still present on the farm and the elimination of products from these animals" was ordered, they indicate in their press release.
Of the four mink farms in the country, one is unharmed and "analyzes are still underway in the last two", the results of which are expected during the week.
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Several European countries have already reported contaminations of mink farms, mainly in Denmark, with the recent discovery of a variant virus, but also in the Netherlands then in Sweden and Greece, and isolated cases have been detected in Italy. and in Spain.
Cases have also been detected in the United States.
The mutation probably extinct in Denmark
On Saturday, hundreds of Danish breeders demonstrated by tractor in Copenhagen, to protest against the government decision to slaughter all the herd to fight against a problematic mutation of the coronavirus.
Danish authorities said Thursday that this mutation was most likely extinct.
It risked, according to the authorities, to make the vaccine less effective, because this mutated virus does not react as much to antibodies as the normal virus.
The French government stressed on Sunday the importance of barrier gestures in this context as well: to protect mink from contamination from farm staff, but also, as a precaution, to avoid contact between possibly infected animals and staff.