SARS-CoV-2 Infection Pathology in 45 Farmed Minks

A virology and pathology study analyzes 45 farmed minks (Neovison vison) naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2, divided into four groups based on clinical health status and time of sampling. The research investigates histopathology, viral antigen expression, RNA levels, serology, and proteomics, finding interstitial pneumonia and systemic viral spread even in asymptomatic animals. Over 57% of the minks were co-infected with Aleutian Disease Virus (ADV).

Use Cases

• Analyze the correlation between clinical health status groups (FD, NCSc, CSc, FDc) and the severity of interstitial pneumonia lesions from histopathological examination.
• Investigate viral RNA levels across different tissues (nasal swabs, throat swabs, lung, spleen, liver, intestine) to model systemic viral spread patterns.
• Study the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies from serology data across all animal groups to understand immune response.
• Examine co-infection status with Aleutian Disease Virus (ADV) via qPCR results to assess its potential interaction with SARS-CoV-2 pathology.
• Use immunohistochemistry data on viral antigen expression in respiratory (nose, trachea, lungs) and extra-respiratory tissues (intestine, spleen, lymph nodes) for spatial analysis of infection.

Strengths

• Study includes data from 45 individual mink subjects, providing a basis for comparative analysis.
• Multimodal data collection covers histopathology, immunohistochemistry, virology (RNA levels), serology, proteomics, and ADV co-infection testing.
• Findings are grounded in natural infection from a farm outbreak, reflecting real-world disease dynamics.
• Clear group definitions (FD, NCSc, CSc, FDc) based on clinical status and sampling time allow for controlled comparisons.

Limitations

• The sample size of 45 animals is relatively small for robust statistical modeling across all measured parameters.
• Data is presented in a DOCX document (5.7 MB), requiring manual extraction for quantitative analysis, which may introduce errors.
• The study focuses on a single infected farm in the Netherlands, limiting geographic generalizability.

Provenance

Source

Figshare, authored by Sandra Vreman.

Collection Method

Pathological, immunohistochemical, virological, serological, and proteomic analysis of minks from a naturally infected farm.

Time Range

Study period not explicitly stated, but related to 2020 outbreak investigations.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-24.

Geography

Data originates from a mink farm in the Netherlands.