Outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in naturally infected mink farms: Impact, transmission dynamics, genetic patterns, and environmental contamination

Επιστημονική δημοσίευση - Άρθρο Περιοδικού uoadl:2999785 26 Αναγνώσεις

Μονάδα:
Ερευνητικό υλικό ΕΚΠΑ
Τίτλος:
Outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in naturally infected mink farms: Impact, transmission dynamics, genetic patterns, and environmental contamination
Γλώσσες Τεκμηρίου:
Αγγλικά
Περίληψη:
SARS-CoV-2 infection outbreaks in minks have serious implications associated with animal health and welfare, and public health. In two naturally infected mink farms (A and B) located in Greece, we investigated the outbreaks and assessed parameters associated with virus transmission, immunity, pathology, and environmental contamination. Symptoms ranged from anorexia and mild depression to respiratory signs of varying intensity. Although the farms were at different breeding stages, mortality was similarly high (8.4% and 10.0%). The viral strains belonged to lineages B.1.1.218 and B.1.1.305, possessing the mink-specific S-Y453F substitution. Lung histopathology identified necrosis of smooth muscle and connective tissue elements of vascular walls, and vasculitis as the main early key events of the acute SARS-CoV-2-induced broncho-interstitial pneumonia. Molecular investigation in two dead minks indicated a consistently higher (0.3–1.3 log10 RNA copies/g) viral load in organs of the male mink compared to the female. In farm A, the infected farmers were responsible for the significant initial infection of 229 out of 1,000 handled minks, suggesting a very efficient human-to-mink transmission. Subsequent infections across the sheds wherein animals were being housed occurred due to airborne transmission. Based on a R0 of 2.90 and a growth rate equal to 0.293, the generation time was estimated to be 3.6 days, indicative of the massive SARS-CoV-2 dispersal among minks. After the end of the outbreaks, a similar percentage of animals were immune in the two farms (93.0% and 93.3%), preventing further virus transmission whereas, viral RNA was detected in samples collected from shed surfaces and air. Consequently, strict biosecurity is imperative during the occurrence of clinical signs. Environmental viral load monitoring, in conjunction with NGS should be adopted in mink farm surveillance. The minimum proportion of minks that need to be immunized to avoid outbreaks in farms was calculated at 65.5%, which is important for future vaccination campaigns. Copyright: © 2021 Chaintoutis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Έτος δημοσίευσης:
2021
Συγγραφείς:
Chaintoutis, S.C.
Thomou, Z.
Mouchtaropoulou, E.
Tsiolas, G.
Chassalevris, T.
Stylianaki, I.
Lagou, M.
Michailidou, S.
Moutou, E.
Koenen, J.J.H.
Dijkshoorn, J.W.
Paraskevis, D.
Poutahidis, T.
Siarkou, V.I.
Sypsa, V.
Argiriou, A.
Fortomaris, P.
Dovas, C.I.
Περιοδικό:
PLoS Pathogens
Εκδότης:
Public Library of Science
Τόμος:
17
Αριθμός / τεύχος:
9
Λέξεις-κλειδιά:
agricultural worker; airborne transmission; amino acid substitution; animal tissue; anorexia; Article; basic reproduction number; blood clotting; blood sampling; breeding; bronchus epithelium; connective tissue; contamination; coronavirus disease 2019; death; depression; disease severity; disease surveillance; edema; environment; epidemic; female; food intake; genetic variability; genetics; high throughput sequencing; histopathology; human; hyperemia; immunity; infection fatality ratio; interstitial pneumonia; male; mortality; necrosis; Neovison vison; nonhuman; pathology; phylogeny; real time polymerase chain reaction; RNA extraction; sequence alignment; serology; seroprevalence; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; smooth muscle; vaccination; vasculitis; virology; virus detection; virus identification; virus load; virus transmission; agricultural land; animal; environmental microbiology; epidemiology; genetics; Greece; Neovison vison; occupational exposure; veterinary medicine; virology, Animals; COVID-19; Disease Outbreaks; Environmental Microbiology; Farms; Female; Greece; Humans; Male; Mink; Occupational Exposure; Viral Zoonoses
Επίσημο URL (Εκδότης):
DOI:
10.1371/journal.ppat.1009883
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