Occupational and environmental exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in and around infected mink farms.
Myrna M T De RooijRenate W Hakze-Van der HoningMarcel M HulstFrank HardersMarc EngelsmaWouter van de HoefKees MeliefsteSigrid NieuwenwegBas B Oude MunninkIsabella van SchothorstReina S SikkemaArco N van der SpekMarcel SpierenburgJack SpithovenRuth BouwstraRobert-Jan MolenaarMarion KoopmansArjan StegemanWim H M van der PoelLidwien A M SmitPublished in: Occupational and environmental medicine (2021)
Infected mink farms can be highly contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 RNA. This warns of occupational exposure, which was substantiated by considerable SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in personal air samples. Dispersion of SARS-CoV-2 to outdoor air was found to be limited and SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in air samples collected beyond farm premises, implying a negligible risk of environmental exposure to nearby communities. Our occupational and environmental risk assessment is in line with whole genome sequencing analyses showing mink-to-human transmission among farm workers, but no indications of direct zoonotic transmission events to nearby communities.