Minks from a Fraser Valley farm have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Samples were collected and submitted to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease after several farm workers tested positive for COVID-19, according to a press release from the B.C. government.
The World Organisation for Animal Health was notified under international reporting requirements.
The results were expected, considering the interaction between infected workers and mink on the farm, the province said. Testing is underway to determine the strain of the virus. Results should arrive within a week.
B.C.’s chief veterinarian has placed the farm under a quarantine order prohibiting the movement of animals and materials from the property.
The provincial government said a plan was created to allow the minks to be fed and cared for under quarantine conditions.
B.C.’s chief veterinarian and ministry staff inspected the farm in September and said it met animal welfare and biosecurity standards. The outbreak does not pose a health risk to other mink farms, the province said.
