Minks test positive for COVID-19 virus in BC
By Province of British Columbia
Test results from five mink samples taken from a Fraser Valley mink farm have all been confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans.
After several workers on the farm tested positive for COVID-19, mink samples were collected and submitted to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg. The OIE-World Organisation for Animal Health was notified under international reporting requirements.
The results were expected, considering the interaction between infected workers and mink on the farm. Testing to determine genome sequencing and the strain of the virus continues. Results are anticipated in the coming week.
B.C.’s chief veterinarian has placed the farm under a quarantine order prohibiting the movement of animals and materials from the property. A plan is in place to provide feed and care to the mink during the outbreak. The plan respects the conditions of the quarantine and maintains worker and mink safety.
The farm was inspected by the chief veterinarian and ministry staff as part of a routine inspection process in September 2020 and was found to comply with all animal welfare and biosecurity standards. The outbreak at this farm is not considered to pose a health risk to other mink farms.
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