Study identifies an unknown SARS-CoV-2 lineage on three mink farms in Poland PIWet_PIB Eurosurveillanc mink minkfarms mink zoonosis transmission cryptic lineage publichealth
By Neha MathurApr 24 2023Reviewed by Lily Ramsey, LLM In a recent study published in the Eurosurveillance Journal, researchers detected a cryptic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 lineage on mink farms in Poland.
However, Poland's number of mink farms decreased dramatically, from 350 to 166, between 2019 and 2023. Issues with pelt import and declining demand for fur worldwide drove this decline. The team collected samples to perform whole genome sequencing , the sample size of which detected between 50% and 5% prevalence, respectively, with 95% confidence. WGS helped the researchers gather data on changes in SARS-CoV-2 genomes detected in minks.
The viruses detected on mink farms were nearly identical, but with several mutations not found in the Wuhan-Hu1 strain and human B.1.1.307 SARS-CoV-2, including F486L and N501T in the spike , which suggested viral evolution in minks. The researchers observed that all three SARS-CoV-2-positive farms had a concrete fence 1.8 m high with no holes for wild animals to enter. However, trees on both sides that reached across provided a potential route for entry into farms.
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