A mink in Utah is the first known case of the coronavirus in a wild animal

The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) has confirmed SARS-CoV-2 by real time RT-PCR and sequencing of a nasal swab collected from a free-ranging, wild mink sampled in Utah. To our knowledge, this is the 1st free-ranging, native wild animal confirmed with SARS-CoV-2.

APHIS has notified the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) of this detection in a wild mink as part of the epidemiological study in the surrounding area of the infected farm.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service conducted wildlife surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in meso-carnivores and other species around infected mink farms in Utah, Michigan, and Wisconsin, USA between 24 Aug-30 Oct 2020. Surveillance was conducted as part of One Health investigations involving the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Geological Survey, and State Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Health.

There is currently no evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is circulating or has been established in wild populations surrounding the infected mink farms. Several animals from different wildlife species were sampled, but all others tested negative.

The sequence of the viral genome obtained from the wild mink sample at NVSL was indistinguishable from those obtained from the farmed mink.