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Assessing the extent of community spread caused by mink-derived SARS-CoV-2 variants

Liang Wang1, Xavier Didelot2, Yuhai Bi1,3

  • 1CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Center for Influenza Research and Early-warning (CASCIRE), CAS-TWAS Center of Excellence for Emerging Infectious Diseases (CEEID), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.

Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.))
|June 14, 2021
PubMed

Insights

SARS-CoV-2 variants spread from humans to minks and back. At least 12.5% of mink-derived variant infections in Denmark and the Netherlands resulted from human-to-human transmission.

Area of Science:

  • Veterinary Medicine
  • Epidemiology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has demonstrated interspecies transmission, notably from humans to mink.
  • The potential for SARS-CoV-2 variants originating in mink to transmit back to humans and spread within the human population remains a significant concern.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the extent of human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 variants derived from mink.
  • To analyze the epidemiological impact of mink-to-human and subsequent human-to-human transmission events.

Main Methods:

  • Phylogenetic analysis of publicly available SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences from humans and mink in Denmark and the Netherlands.
  • Application of Bayesian inference within an epidemiological model to trace transmission pathways.

Main Results:

  • At least 12.5% of infections with dominant mink-derived SARS-CoV-2 variants in Denmark and the Netherlands were attributed to human-to-human transmission.
  • Evidence confirms that SARS-CoV-2 variants originating in mink have successfully established human-to-human transmission.

Conclusions:

  • The findings highlight the established human-to-human transmission of mink-derived SARS-CoV-2 variants.
  • Emphasizes the critical need for ongoing surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants originating from animal reservoirs (like mink) and their potential for zoonotic re-emergence.
  • Recommends tailored prevention and control strategies to mitigate large-scale community transmission resulting from animal-to-human virus spillover events.
Keywords:
SARS-CoV-2human-to-human transmissionmink

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