The Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie ordered the slaughter of 1,000 contaminated mink from a farm in Eure-et-Loir and the elimination of products from these animals, “in order to protect public health against Covid-19. 19″.
- A “variant virus” is currently spreading among mink farms in some EU Member States.
- Following contamination with Covid-19, the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie ordered the slaughter of 1,000 mink from a farm in Eure-et-Loir.
“France in turn has just detected American mink contaminated with Covid-19”. In a press release, the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie announces that he has ordered the slaughter of 1,000 minks from a farm in Eure-et-Loir and the elimination of products from these animals, “in order to protect public health against Covid-19”. Surveillance and reinforced biosecurity measures are maintained in the three other French mink farms.
No “epidemiological role”
“A variant virus” is currently spreading among mink farms in some Member States of the European Union, “mainly in Denmark, but also in the Netherlands and more recently in Sweden and Greece – isolated cases have been detected in Italy and Spain. Cases are also reported in the United States of America”, says the government statement.
In addition to the outcry aroused on the Web by the very existence of mink farms in France, the slaughter of animals raises questions. The National Agency for Food Sanitary Security (ANSES) indeed ensures in an opinion of November 19 that animals do not participate in the spread of SARS-CoV-2. “In the light of the scientific elements currently available […]domestic and wild animals do not, to date, play an epidemiological role in the maintenance and spread of Sars-CoV-2 at the national or even global level”, write the experts.
Preserving the effectiveness of future vaccines
The Agency nevertheless confirms that animals can be infected with the virus and develop symptoms. It is therefore necessary to remain “particularly careful” because this “raises the question of a possible risk of the constitution of an animal reservoir other than humans”, adds ANSES. In Denmark, the government announced at the beginning of November the slaughter of more than 15 million animals in the name of this precautionary principle, which aims above all to preserve the effectiveness of future vaccines which could be called into question by the eruption of an important mutation of the coronavirus.
To avoid any risk, ANSES recommends that patients infected with Covid-19 “respect barrier gestures” with pets “in order to limit the risk of infection from humans to animals, without compromising their well-being”. ANSES concludes that it would be desirable for animal owners to wear a mask if contact cannot be avoided.
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