Cabinet asks for advice on the risks of corona infection in animals

Ministers Ernst Kuipers (Public Health) and Henk Staghouwer (Agriculture) have asked RIVM to organize an expert consultation “to advise us on possible risks to humans” of corona infections in animals. They are concerned that the virus could circulate among animals independently of humans.

The experts will also provide information about the possibility that the virus mutates in the body of animals. In addition, the cabinet wants to know how it can identify risks quickly and limit the consequences as much as possible.

It is now known that at least minks, cats and dogs are sensitive to the corona virus. And “in the United States and Canada, the virus circulates in a certain wild deer species,” Kuipers writes to the House. These developments have prompted the government to request further advice.

Hamsters from the Netherlands that were infected with the virus previously caused unrest in Honkong, where a hamster-to-human infection is believed to have taken place. Further research seems to indicate that the hamsters in the Czech Republic are infected, Kuipers emphasizes in his letter. Although hamsters can also infect humans with the virus, the “extra risk” that this poses for humans is very small.

It is also “regular” that people ignite cats and dogs, says Kuipers. But “there is no evidence that the virus can survive independently of humans in cat or dog populations”.

The corona virus already ensured that the keeping of mink was banned years earlier than planned. The animals turned out to be susceptible to the virus and the cabinet feared that the virus would continue to circulate in minks, and possibly mutate.