Farmed mink in Utah contract coronavirus

Veterinarians have confirmed the first two cases of mink infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the United States in a pair of farmed animals in Utah.

In an Aug. 17 press release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories also announced several cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 in humans, among farm workers that had contact with the infected mink (Neovison vison) at the Utah facility.

Officials conducted necropsies of several animals from the farm after an unusual number of the animals died. While this is the first recorded case in the U.S. so far, authorities believe that mink infected with the disease in the Netherlands may have also transmitted the coronavirus to humans. Cases have also been reported in Spain and Denmark, and ferrets have also contracted SARS-CoV-2.

See the USDA’s list of animals confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2 here.

Read more at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.