Dozens of viruses, some of which have the potential to spread to humans, have… A mix of viruses has been detected in animals on fur farms in China, sparking fears of a new pandemic outbreak, researchers said.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists have been warning that farming mammals such as minks for their fur could make it easier for new viruses to jump from the wild to their native species and cause new outbreaks.
Virologist Edward Holmes, who led research into Covid-19, told AFP he believes the global fur farming industry “is one of the most likely pathways through which a new pandemic will start.”
“Personally, I think the fur farming industry worldwide should be shut down,” he added.
Holmes is co-author of a new study looking at the potential danger posed by viruses on fur farms in the country where the first cases of Covid emerged in late 2019.
Dozens of viruses, some of which have the potential to be transmitted to humans, have been detected mingling on fur farms in China. Pictured: foxes and minks on a fur farm in China
Raccoon dogs and foxes photographed being intensively farmed for fur in Asia in 2020
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists have been warning that farming mammals such as minks for their fur could facilitate the transmission of new viruses from the wild.
The Chinese-led team of researchers sequenced genetic material from lung and intestine samples of 461 animals, including minks, rabbits, foxes and raccoon dogs, that died from the disease across the country between 2021 and 2024.
Most came from fur farms, some had also been bred for food or traditional medicine, while around 50 were wild animals.
The team detected 125 viruses, including 36 new ones, according to the study published in the journal Nature.
Thirty-nine of the viruses pose a “high risk” of being transmitted to other species, including humans, the researchers assessed.
Some of those viruses, such as hepatitis E and Japanese encephalitis, had already spread to humans, but 13 were new, the study said.
Various types of bird flu have also been detected in guinea pigs, minks and muskrats.
Seven types of coronavirus were also detected, although none were closely related to SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid.
The virus that most worried Holmes was the ‘Pipistrellus bat HKU5-like virus’, which had already been detected in bats but was found in the lungs of two farmed minks.
It is a relative of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus, which can be fatal to humans.
“The fact that we now see the virus has jumped from bats to farmed mink should be a wake-up call,” said Holmes, a professor at the University of Sydney.
“This virus needs to be monitored.”
Thousands of unknown viruses are believed to be circulating among wild mammals. Scientists fear that fur farms could allow farmed animals to catch these viruses, which in turn could expose humans.
Pictured: Arctic fox pelts for sale in China, in a brochure published by Care for the Wild International
A fur farm in Pulandian, located in southern Liaoning Province, China, in 2023
Another look at the Pulandian fur farm. There are fears that 39 viruses have a “high risk” of being transmitted between species
The leading theory about the origin of Covid is that it started in bats and was then transmitted to humans during the wildlife trade.
“I strongly believe that the wildlife trade was responsible for the emergence of SARS-CoV-2,” Holmes said.
“And I think the related fur trade could easily result in another pandemic virus,” he added.
In the study, researchers called for increased surveillance of farm animals, particularly mink, raccoon dogs and guinea pigs, which have been found to carry “high-risk” viruses.
Denmark culled its entire farmed mink population over Covid fears in 2020 but has since re-authorised the practice.