Denmark will slaughter all of the fifteen million mink raised on its territory because of a mutation of Covid-19, already transmitted to 12 people, which threatens the effectiveness of a future vaccine for humans, has Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced on Wednesday.
According to the explanations of the Danish authorities, this mutation does not result in more serious effects in humans, but in a lower effectiveness of human antibodies, which threatens the development of a vaccine against Covid-19.
The mutated virus detected in mink “does not respond to antibodies as much as the normal virus.
Antibodies still have an effect, but not as effective, ”explained Danish Infectious Disease Control Authority (SSI) head Kåre Mølbak.
A deputy calls for the closure of French farms
Denmark is the world's largest exporter of mink skins, an activity that has made the fortune of more than a thousand farms in the small Nordic kingdom.
After the first cases of Covid-19 in mink, Copenhagen had already launched a slaughter campaign this summer in infected farms.
The twelve cases of transmission to humans of the mutated virus have been detected in northern Jutland (west), where most of the farms are concentrated.
In France, the veterinarian and LREM deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Loïc Dombreval demands the closure of the four farms in the territory.