This Thursday, a mutated strain of the coronavirus was found in mink populations in northern Denmark. The new strain has already infected minks in over 200 mink farms.
Other mutations in the past have occurred in various animal species, but they were usually not a big issue since they were either mostly the same virus, or they were not transmittable to humans. However, this new mutation is transmissible to humans--so far, at least 12 people in Denmark have become infected with the new virus.
Although the mutation thankfully doesn't appear to be any more dangerous to humans than the original virus, what is more concerning about this particular variation is that it is less affected by antibody treatments currently in development. What this means is that even if scientists discover a cure or vaccine for COVID-19, the vaccine would most likely have minimal impact on the new virus. If the infection starts spreading rapidly, it could potentially turn into a new pandemic.
To combat the issue, the Denmark government is taking decisive steps and culling (putting down) every single mink in its mink farms, a total of over 17 million minks. While this is a good measure-it's better to be safe than sorry-some groups are calling for complete bans on mink farming in various countries because of the potential risks it presents with regards to coronavirus.
Although some people are quite unsettled with this new development--to an extent including the WHO, which has called the situation "concerning"--I personally think that it is not a big issue. The Denmark government has done a good job at containing the original coronavirus, and it is taking good steps to clamp down on the new strain before it gets out of hand. What I find more concerning is that this opens up the possibility that other coronavirus strains are circulating in other animal species--possibly even more dangerous than the original--and haven't been found yet. When brought into contact with humans, it's possible that such mutations could trigger rapid infection with a disease that scientists will have to start back at square one to cure.
Do you think Denmark is taking strict enough measures to combat the spread of the new virus?
How do you think this situation parallels the discovery of COVID-19 in China last year, and how is it different?
How concerned are you about this new strain of the virus?
I think that so far, Denmark is doing a good job at combating the spread of the new virus by being more safe than sorry - at this point in the pandemic, that's the best option. I think this definitely has some parallels with the discovery of Covid in China last year because the original strain of Covid "possibly came from an animal sold at a market" according to the CDC, just as now this new strain is from animals. However, I think that a strong advantage that we have over this information of knowing that the original virus came from an animal is now being able to keep a close eye on other strains that originate with animals, like this mink one.
ReplyDeleteI would be lying if I said this new strain doesn't concern me - over a million people have died so far from this original strain, and just as we are starting to develop some antibody treatments against it, a new one pops up. While I don't know a ton about epidemiology, it's logical to assume that new strains will inevitably pop up - but because we're still so far behind on creating safe and successful treatments for the current strain, I think that we should all be more concerned about the current one, while taking preventative measures like Denmark did against new strains.
Hi Lauren,
DeleteI like how you pointed out that both COVID-19 and this new coronavirus were found spreading from animals to humans. I personally don't think the world has learned that much about how these viruses work and spread over the course of the past year, and if there is a new outbreak I don't have much faith that people will be able to control it effectively. This is why I am a little concerned, especially since as Dr. Fauci said a couple of days ago, COVID may become a regular or annually recurring thing that we constantly have to deal with for many years, even if there is a vaccine. If that ends up being the case, then there is a high probability that at some point, in some species, it will mutate into an even deadlier strain.
I agree that it is concerning that another strain was found and that brings up the question on whether or not there may be more. I think Denmark's drastic measures are unfortunate to the mink population, but necessary to ensure this even does not repeat itself. They definitely are taking significant measures and in more dramatic, expedited way than when China first found out about their corona breakout. It's also bad news that the vaccine we are developing now would not work for the strain found in minks. I think we should conduct more research on other strains of this virus and hopefully we will build up immunity for it. As for how concerned I am, I believe Denmark has done a good job containing the virus, but if another case arose so quickly, it foreshadows an unpredictable future.
ReplyDeleteHi Kailey,
DeleteI agree that Denmark does seem to be taking relatively decisive measures so far to clamp down on the new strain before it gets out of hand. I think that there was a lot of confusion and a lack of clarity last year about how China handled the outbreak, which makes it difficult to compare the scenarios or determine if what Denmark is currently doing is enough. In the short term, efforts need to be placed on developing a vaccine for COVID-19, but in the long term there needs to be more funding and effort put into developing methods to cure other diseases and strains of diseases much faster. The hope is that one day we will be able to cure diseases like this in days, not months. I think that this is the only way to prevent an "unpredictable future" of possible future pandemics in the future, like you said.
I think Denmark is doing a good job on containment of covid-19 but I think its a bit extreme that they intend to kill off most minks. If we did this with bats they might as well be extinct. As for comparing this to china, I think Denmark is a lot better in terms of transparency and actually communicating what they think to be a dangerous virus then china. I feel like Denmark will do a much better job at containing a 2nd strain should it jump to humans than china. Although to china's credit covid probably spread due to the many trade routes it has to manage compared to denmark. As for my overall concern I dont feel like a 2nd strain will change much of the current situation, I think people over time will ignore the social distancing eventually regardless if a new wave of virus occurs.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree in that Denmark is taking as many steps possible to stay ahead of this new strand of the virus and preventing it from spreading. I believe that they do have this under control considering they did pretty well in containing COVID-19 cases. In addition, personally, I'm not as worried because there are minimal cases. As Pascal said above, I think communication and transparency is key to making sure this doesn't become another pandemic. To expand on the ideal of communication, more information exchanged between governments in regards to this new strand is very important. It is crucial that governments work together in order to keep both the COVID-19 and this new strand of the virus under control. The more information that is shared about the virus, the more that countries can both prepare and work towards a solution.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Pascal that it seems unnecessary to kill so many minks. Yes, this new strand of the coronavirus is concerning but I don't think Denmark needs to go to that extreme of a measure. If they could possibly find a way of isolating the infected minks, that would be better. I think it's a bit concerning that there's a new strand of the coronavirus given the fact that it's been eight months and we're still under strict COVID protocols. If this new strand breaks out across the world, not only would it lead to more casualties, but it would reset all the progress we've made. In terms of parallels to China's discovery of COVID-19 I agree with Pascal that Denmark has been a lot more transparent. I'm hoping that means that we can get control of this new strand quickly and be able to prevent another global catastrophe.
ReplyDeleteDenmark is doing all that it can to control the virus before it gets out of hand. Although I agree with Pascal and Elizabeth in that killing all those minks might have been overkill, I definitely understand why they took those precautions. If the situation posed enough of a risk to make the WHO concerned, I would believe that it is pretty serious, and if its something that could reduce the effectiveness of future treatments and cures, then Denmark is taking proper measures. We have an advantage over the first time Covid-19 was discovered in China, since Denmark is a smaller country and we know more about the virus and how to contain it. It definitely does concern me, but it seems like Denmark is working hard to prevent the spread of this new strain, so I'm not too worried yet.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Denmark is taking strict enough measures to try to counteract this new strain of the virus. It is good to see that they are doing something to try to fight the problem before it becomes too big. I think that it is different from the situation in China because it was viral in humans and it was not until after that they had learned about the possible origins of the virus. It is also different because they are being quicker to the punch than what was done in China to try to fight this outbreak amongst minks. I personally am not very concerned about this new strain of virus. I am hopeful that they will keep it under control and that it will never affect a large amount of people. I am worried about its implication on the vaccinations that are being developed becoming worthless.
ReplyDeleteThis post is closed; no more comments will be graded.
ReplyDelete