Dozens of viruses detected in Chinese fur farm animals

This undated handout image from animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) on November 20, 2013, taken at an undisclosed location in China, shows Angora rabbits confined in cages. | Photo credit: PETA

Dozens of viruses have been detected in animals at fur farms in China, some of which are new and have the potential to spread to humans, researchers said Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have been warning that farming mammals such as mink for fur could make it easier for new viruses to emerge from the wild and lead to new outbreaks.

Virologist Edward Holmes, who has led research on COVID-19, told AFP He felt the global fur farming industry was “one of the most likely ways in which a new pandemic will start”.

“Personally, I believe the fur farming industry should be shut down globally,” he said.

Holmes is the co-author of a new study looking at the potential threat posed by the virus to fur farms in the country where the first Covid cases were reported in late 2019.

The Chinese-led team of researchers sequenced genetic material from lung and intestine samples of 461 animals such as mink, rabbits, foxes and raccoon dogs that died of the disease across the country between 2021 and 2024. Most were from fur farms, some were also raised for food or traditional medicine, while about 50 were wild animals.

According to the study published in the journal, the team detected 125 viruses, including 36 new viruses. Nature,

The researchers assessed that 39 viruses had a “high risk” of spreading to different species, including humans. Some of those viruses – such as hepatitis E and Japanese encephalitis – already spread to humans, but 13 were new, the study said.

Several types of bird flu were also detected in guinea pigs, minks and muskrats. And seven types of coronavirus were also seen – though none of them were closely related to SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid.

‘Alarm bell’ virus

The virus that concerned Holmes the most was the “Pipistrellus bat HKU5-like virus.” It had previously been detected in bats, but was found in the lungs of two farmed minks.

It is a relative of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS), which can be deadly to humans.

“Now that we’re seeing it spread to mink raised by bats, it’s a red flag,” said Professor Holmes, who is at the University of Sydney. “This virus needs to be monitored.”

Thousands of unknown viruses are believed to be circulating in wild mammals. Scientists fear that fur farms could introduce viruses to domestic animals that could infect humans.

The leading theory about the origin of Covid is that it started from batsIt then spread to humans during wild animal trade.

“I firmly believe that the wildlife trade was responsible for the emergence of SARS-CoV-2,” Holmes said. “And I think the related fur farming trade could easily lead to another pandemic virus.”

In the study, the researchers called for increased surveillance of fur-bearing farm animals — particularly mink, raccoon dogs and guinea pigs, which were found to have the most “high-risk” viruses.

Denmark culled its entire farmed mink population in 2020 over Covid fears but has since reauthorised the practice.