Genomic surveillance reveals a cryptic SARS-CoV-2 lineage in farmed mink, indicating prolonged undetected viral circulation within an unidentified animal reservoir.
In late 2022 and early 2023, SARS-CoV-2 infections were detected on three mink farms in Poland situated within a few km from each other. Whole-genome sequencing of the viruses on two of the farms showed that they were related to a virus identified in humans in the same region 2 years before (B.1.1.307 lineage). Many mutations were found, including in the S protein typical of adaptations to the mink host. The origin of the virus remains to be determined.
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Domańska-Blicharz et al. (2023) studied this question.
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