Question Period Note: COVID-19 and Farmed Mink

• What is the Canadian Food Inspection doing about COVID-19 cases possibly related to a mink farm in British Columbia?

• On December 5, 2020, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency was notified of the situation on a mink farm in British Columbia.

• Authorities and responsibilities for farmed mink rest with the provinces and territories. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has offered technical support to British Columbia counterparts.

• Samples from any animals tested for SARS-CoV-2 are expected at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease Laboratory in Winnipeg for confirmatory testing. This will include sequencing of virus strains to monitor the evolution of the virus mutations. Any confirmed cases will be reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in accordance with international protocol.

• All livestock producers (including mink producers) are encouraged to continue implementing biosecurity measures and personal hygiene measures to reduce the introduction and transmission of animal diseases. Many of these biosecurity practices will also aid in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in susceptible livestock species.

• Globally, mink cases of COVID-19 have largely been from humans to mink, and between mink. Strong biosecurity measures on farm are important to protecting those handling or being in close proximity to animals.

• COVID-19 has been identified in mink farms in some European countries and in the USA.

• We will continue to work with industry and public health partners to prevent and stop the spread of COVID-19 in Canadian mink farms.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) considers COVID-19 as an emerging disease and requires countries to investigate and report animal cases.

Current evidence suggests COVID-19 emerged from an animal source, however there is not enough evidence to confirm the original source or explain the original transmission to humans (which may involve an intermediate host).

There have been several cases of COVID-19 in farmed mink some European countries and in the USA. Recently, a COVID-19 mutation was identified in Denmark that is suspected to reduce the possible effectiveness of a future Covid-19 vaccination of humans. In order to stop the spread of this mutated virus, Denmark made a decision to put down its total population of mink (15-17 million animals).

On December 5, 2020, British Columbia advised the Government of Canada of persons testing positive for COVID-19 on a mink farm in the lower mainland. There are [REDACTED] workers on this farm; [REDACTED] of [REDACTED] people are on site, including farm family, workers, and temporary foreign workers. The farm workers have been tested and all are in isolation. Confirmatory testing will be done on 4 of 5 ‘non-negative’ mink tested on the farm, which may be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and the farm has been quarantined. Farm workers reportedly were sick first, so the source of the virus will be the community. Further testing is taking place on the animal samples at the at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases lab, in Winnipeg and on the human samples at the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory also in Winnipeg (on December 7 – TBC).

There has been previous media attention to mink farms, in particular in Denmark, where millions of mink were considered a “public health risk” and were culled. The World Health Organization and other international experts have noted that it is too early to jump to conclusions about the implications of mutations in the virus found in mink, and that there is a need to wait and see what the implications are on such things as potential vaccine efficacy impacts, before coming to any conclusions.

The size of the mink farming industry in Canada is relatively small. Mink production currently occurs in 8 provinces and farms are mostly concentrated in Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is providing a coordination role for the development of a national guidance for managing COVID-19 infections in farmed mink. This guidance provides direction for provinces/territories in the proactive management of mink farms to prevent COVID-19 infection and respond, should any mink farms in Canada report infections with this virus.

SYNOPSIS

• We are aware that individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 on a mink farm in British Columbia.
IF PRESSED ON ACTIONS BY THE CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada are working closely with federal and provincial partners to respond to this emerging issue. This includes the development of national guidance on infection prevention, monitoring, testing, and response for mink farms and employees.

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is collaborating with the Canada Mink Breeders Association on communicating the importance of biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction of virus in mink farms.

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) continue to track and analyze research and case reports from around the world on SARS-CoV-2 and farmed mink.

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency works closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada and provincial and territorial partners to provide appropriate guidance for people who have COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed to a COVID-19 case and are in contact with animals.