SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted from humans to mink and back to humans. In infected animals the virus can acquire mutations in the viral spike protoein, the key target of neutralizing antibodies, which resulted in the culling of 17 million animals in Denmark. However, it has been unclear how these changes impact viral entry into human cells and viral inhibition by neutralizing antibodies. A study by the Infection Biology Unit shows that mutations in spike acquired during infection of mink are compatible with robust entry into human cells. However, the mutations partially protect against antibodies used for COVID-19 therapy or present in convalsecent COVID-19 patients. Therefore, it is possible that convalescent patients and potentially also vaccinated patients are only partially protected against infection by SARS-CoV-2 from mink.

The study was published on a preprint server: Hoffmann et al, SARS-CoV-2 mutations acquired in mink reduce antibody-mediated neutralization. bioRxiv doi: doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.12.430998