Cluster 5: Denmark is taking steps after the coronavirus mutation

After the coronavirus mutation: Denmark is taking drastic steps

A variant of the virus that is said to affect corona vaccinations is rampant in North Jutland. The FOPH explains that the situation is being observed “closely”.

A message from Denmark caused horror among animal lovers on Wednesday: the government is killing 17 million minks. The reason: In an unknown number of fur animals raised on mink farms, a mutation of SARS-CoV-2, which could be dangerous, is rampant.

The large number of cages in a confined space proved ideal for the rapid spread of the virus and also for mutations, “the nightmare in the fight against pandemics,” according to German media.

The virus initially passed from humans to animals, changed and then recovered.

Lest this frightening prospect become a reality, the Copenhagen government said Thursday the vast isolation of the entire population in North Jutland according to a report.

Additionally, all residents of the region will be asked to undergo testing for the special mutation.

What is “Cluster 5”?

The researchers call the mutation “Cluster 5”. And this has now been discovered in five mink farms in Denmark, twelve people have been shown to have been infected.

The state serum institute believes the mutation is so dangerous that all mink in Denmark’s more than 1100 mink farms must be killed as soon as possible.

It has long been known that the new corona virus has been circulating among breeding animals in mink farms.

It was said Wednesday that, according to Danish authorities, crown cases had already been found on more than 200 farms. All animals have already been killed on 67 farms. But the killings apparently didn’t happen quickly enough to minimize the danger.

On Thursday, the Danish government pulled the emergency brake: in addition to the murder decision, the Copenhagen government also ordered special restrictions on the North Jutland region, where the infected farms are located. The approximately 300,000 residents who live there are required not to travel beyond municipality boundaries in the next four weeks, all cafes, restaurants and pubs will be closed and public events will be canceled. Schools and day care centers should, however, remain open.

The mutation threatens the effectiveness of the vaccine

The Dane Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen On Wednesday afternoon he spoke of “possible extremely negative consequences for the course of the pandemic not only in Denmark, but in the world”.

“We have responsibility for the rest of the world,” said the head of the government, who was only able to attend the briefing virtually due to his quarantine.

Strong Kåre Mølbak, director of the Serum Institute, a scenario is conceivable “in which a pandemic occurs starting in Denmark”.

Although mutations are something completely natural, SARS-CoV-2 has already mutated several times: “But when viruses pass from animals to humans, that is, when they enter another biological system, special mutations arise,” Mølbak explained. And in “Cluster 5”, the special mutation is found in the part of Sars-CoV-2 that most vaccines target.

Scientists fear that antibody therapies such as vaccinations will no longer work. “Their key then no longer fits in the lock,” he says Professor of immunology Jan Pravsgaard Christensen quoted.

This fear has existed since September, but has now been confirmed by laboratory tests.

Hans Jørn Kolmos, professor of clinical microbiology, warned of the dramatic consequences if corona vaccines don’t work as expected: “We could have a pandemic the size of the Spanish flu.”

According to reports, the Danish health authority speculates that half of the corona-infected people in the region could be infected with mink mutations, about a tenth of them with the “Cluster 5” variant. Mølbak warned that if the mutation couldn’t be stopped locally, North Jutland could become something like a second Wuhan.

watson has requested a statement from the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG). The reply by e-mail:

Denmark attempted two weeks ago in a first attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus among mink farms and ordered the killing of 4 million animals. The virus continued to rage.

And after similar outbreaks of corona infections in mink, the Netherlands decided in early June to kill all fur animals on affected farms.

sources