Finland has issued an order Fur farms cull all foxes and raccoon dogs in unprecedented moveCountries with confirmed cases of avian influenza. This drastic measure is aimed at preventing the virus from mutating and its potential to be transmitted to humans. The decision will affect a total of 109,000 foxes and 6,000 raccoon dogs, and Finnish authorities have also mandated the culling of another 135,000 animals with valuable fur during the summer, mostly foxes and minks.
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So far, Cases of bird flu detected at 26 of Finland’s nearly 400 fur farms, most of which are located in the Ostrobothnia region in the west of the country. The Finnish Food Agency is concerned because it found signs of infection among mammals on these farms, and not just infected birds.
Agency investigator Tuija Gadd told YLE public television station “We’re not sure how widespread this disease is.” There are indications that it can spread from one animal to another. In addition, concerning mutations were found on some farms that increase the virus’s ability to adapt to mammals. “These signs raise the worrying possibility that the virus is mutating.
The entity warned that the longer the virus circulates among mammals, the greater the risk of the emergence of variants that can also infect humans.. As the human seasonal flu season approaches, there is a threat of malignant mutations if these viruses come together.
So far, worrying variants that facilitate the spread of the virus to mammals have been found in the genomes of six viruses isolated from fur farm animals such as foxes, minks and raccoon dogs. Finnish institutions are working closely with EU reference laboratories Analysis of virus strains found in these facilities.
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning about the risks posed by minks in July last year. Because they provide a favorable environment for avian influenza viruses to mutate and potentially infect humans. This is because minks have receptors in their respiratory tracts to which avian and human influenza viruses can attach at the same time.
DMR