In Poland, an unknown variant of the SarsCoV2 virus was identified in two mink farms. The variant has characteristics that make it peculiar: it is related to a version of the virus responsible for Covid-19 last detected in humans between the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. This suggests that it has been circulating for a long time in animals. The discovery, made by the National Institute of Veterinary Research in Puławy, Poland, and by researchers at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, was illustrated in Eurosurveillance, a journal of the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). (MONITORING IN ITALY – STOP MANDATORY MASKS IN THE HOSPITAL)
I study
Between September 2022 and January 2023, the researchers report, SarsCoV2 infections were detected in three mink farms in Poland located a few kilometers from each other. The analysis of the genome of the viruses concluded that those identified in two of the three farms were related to the variant B.1.1.307, which circulated over two years ago in humans. Compared to this, the new version of the virus had about 40 additional mutations. At the moment none of the workers on the farms nor their family members have tested positive for the virus. Researchers are trying to piece together its origin: “It could have come from an unknown location or an undetected animal reservoir,” they write. Of greater concern is the fact that the animals who tested positive showed no signs of the disease. This “creates the possibility of an independent evolution of the virus and can make them a source for future outbreaks with new strains”, add the researchers who underline the need to intensify surveillance by extending it also to wild animals.