MINK ALERT
New Covid mink strain would have ‘grave consequences’ if spread & could affect vaccine, Hancock warns
A NEW Covid strain passed from mink to humans would have "grave" consequences if it were to spread as it might not respond to a possible vaccine, Matt Hancock said today.
The Health Secretary told MPs this afternoon that ministers acted "quickly" last week to try and clamp down on any possible cases from Denmark reaching the UK.
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Danish scientists are concerned about one particular mink-related strain, which has been found in 12 people.
Travel to Denmark is banned and anyone coming back must isolate for two weeks, after a strain of the virus was found to have passed from minks to humans.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty made the call last week after the concerning news from Denmark was laid bare.
People who are in hospital and have recently returned from the country must also be treated in isolation.
Mr Hancock today warned that the variant "did not fully respond to Covid-19 antibodies" and therefore may have potential knock-on effects on a future vaccine.
He told the House of Commons: "Although the chance of this variant becoming widespread is low, the consequences should that happen would be grave.
"I know these are serious steps and I understand the consequences for people, but I think the whole House will understand why we had to act so quickly and decisively. Be in no doubt, we will do what needs to be done to protect this country."
And he said there was an "international case on public health grounds" to discuss the future of the whole mink industry.
Mr Hancock said: "Clearly on global public health grounds, there is a case to do everything we can to stop the retransmission of this virus into an animal population and then back again, which can lead to these sorts of mutations that we've seen."
The UK has banned all lorry drivers, flights and ships from Denmark after an outbreak at fur farms.
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Passenger planes and ships travelling from Denmark, as well as any accompanying freight, will not be allowed to dock at English ports.
And hauliers who have been in or through Denmark in the last fortnight will also be denied entry on arrival - and drivers must change over.
Around five new strains of the virus have been found in Denmark.
And already, another five countries have reported coronavirus outbreaks linked to mink - the US, Spain, Italy, Sweden and The Netherlands.
Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said about half of the 783 human cases reported in north Denmark related to a strain of the virus that originated in the mink farms.
And the country's prime minister Mette Frederiksen said there were now fears that the new, mutated virus posed a "risk to the effectiveness" of a future vaccine.
He said last week: "The mutated virus in minks could pose a risk that future vaccines won’t work as they should. It risks being spread from Denmark to other countries. The eyes of the world are on us."
In seven northern municipalities sport and cultural activities have been suspended, public transportation has been stopped and regional borders have been closed.
A mini-lockdown has been ordered with restaurants, schools and other facilities shut.
And Brits could face a bacon shortage if the blanket ban on travel lasts for months to come.
British farmers are scrambling to fill the gap as 25 per cent of pork products sold in the UK come from the Scandi nation.
Industry sources told The Sun they were “assessing the situation."
Pork products from the mink-coved infested nations can still cross into the UK on ferries on “unaccompanied” trailers.
It means that as long as Danish drivers don’t cross with the pork cargo, it can continue its journey to the UK.
But the industry warned that a longer ban - or a ban on products from the country could lead to a shortage.
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How Covid-19 has mutated between minks and humans
MUTATIONS in coronavirus have been attributed to millions of farmed mink getting culled in Denmark.
The virus originally came from a wild animal - which is believed to be a bat - before jumping to humans.
Mink kept in large numbers on farms have caught the virus from infected workers.
The virus has then "spilled back" from mink to humans in a small number of cases - with mutations.
These mutations involve the spike protein of the virus, which is targeted by some vaccines being developed.
More than 200 people have been infected with mink-related coronavirus.
Danish scientists have raised concerns about one mink-related strain of the virus, which has so far been found in 12 people.
They say it is less sensitive to protective antibodies, raising concerns about vaccine development.
Last week Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reiterated concerns that the new strain could affect a vaccine.
In an interview on Sky, he said: "The concern is that when you see a mutated version of coronavirus, if it spread, it would undermine the ability to make an effective vaccine in the future."
Denmark is the world's largest mink fur exporter and produces an estimated 17 million furs per year.
The Danish government has ordered the cull of all of its minks bred in the country's 1,139 mink farms.
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The World Health Organisation said while the reports are concerning, further studies are needed to understand the implications for treatments and vaccines.
Chief WHO scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, said: "We need to wait and see what the implications are but I don't think we should come to any conclusions about whether this particular mutation is going to impact vaccine efficacy."
Prof Ian Jones, a virologist at the University of Reading, said the idea that the virus had mutated in mink was "not surprising" but could be dangerous.
"The danger is that the mutated virus could then spread back into man and evade any vaccine response which would have been designed to the original, non-mutated version."
Other experts have said that while it sounds worrying, viruses - such as influenza - change constantly and scientists have to adapt vaccines depending on which strain is circulating.
Dr Colin Butter, professor of bioveterinary science at the University of Lincoln, said: “This is obviously cause for concern but can, if necessary, be addressed with continual modification of the vaccine, as for seasonal flu."
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Yesterday Downing Street said there is no evidence to suggest that a novel strain of coronavirus associated with Denmark's mink farms is in the UK.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The restrictions were put in place on the recommendation of the chief medical officer overnight on Friday and that is a precautionary measure.
"What it's in response to is the fact there have been widespread outbreak of coronavirus in Danish mink farms with a variant strain spreading through local communities.
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"We will keep our response under constant review but the purpose of these measures is a precautionary step to safeguard UK public health.
"There are no fur farms in the UK so we're not at risk in that regard. There's no evidence to suggest that this new strain is currently in the UK."
Denmark off UK travel list as country culls millions of mink over new coronavirus strain