In three more farms in North Brabant and Limburg, minks have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. A total of 33 mink farms in the Netherlands have now been declared infected with the coronavirus. All infected mink farms are being culled.
The farm in De Mortel concerns a mink farm with approximately 700 breeding females. The infection was detected through the early warning monitoring system during testing of carcasses. In Ottersum, a mink farm with about 8,000 breeding females is infected. This infection came to light due to reports of symptoms among the minks.
In Alfhorst, there was previously a suspicion of SARS-CoV-2 on the farm, and this infection has now also been officially confirmed, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) reported on Sunday. This farm has approximately 12,000 breeding females. The infection was discovered through the early warning monitoring system, in which carcasses are tested weekly for the virus.
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At a mink farm in Ven-Zelderheid, the farm has around 1,800 breeding females. The infected farm will be culled as soon as possible, the Ministry of Health reports. The infection also emerged from the so-called 'early warning' system, which requires mink farms to send in carcasses of naturally deceased animals weekly for testing. This marks the sixth infection in Limburg. Previously, coronavirus was detected on five farms in Limburg: in Castenray, Ysselsteyn, Ospel, and two locations in Vredepeel.
In total, 33 out of more than 120 mink farms in the Netherlands have now been declared infected. At two farms, previous suspicions have now been confirmed, the ministry says. Stricter hygiene rules and a nationwide transport ban for minks remain in place. Mink farmers will soon have access to a cessation scheme, allowing them to close their farms without incurring heavy losses.
The Safety Board is very concerned about the way LNV Minister Carola Schouten handles the interests of residents living near mink farms. She supposedly pays too little attention to neighbors' fears about the health risks to local residents. This became clear last week from a letter by Hubert Bruls, chairman of the Safety Board, which RTL Nieuws has obtained.
Bruls refers to the handling of the Q fever epidemic between 2007 and 2011. Neighbors and visitors contracted Q fever from infected goats and sheep. Several dozen died. Many former patients still suffer the consequences of the disease today.
During the Q fever crisis, the Ministry of Agriculture paid more attention to the goats and sheep than to the people who became ill. Now, especially among mayors in Brabant and Limburg, there is fear that the coronavirus approach with minks will follow the same pattern. The fact that in at least two cases coronavirus has transmitted from minks to humans fuels this fear, it is said.
Earlier, the LNV Ministry dismissed calls for the full culling of all mink farms. It was said, however, that the situation will be reviewed again in 'mid-August' if infections persist. Before the coronavirus crisis, it was already decided that mink farms must close their doors by 2024 at the latest.