SARS-CoV-2 Pathology in Farmed Minks with Clinical Group Analysis

45 minks from an infected farm were studied, divided into four clinical health groups based on time of sampling and symptoms. The data documents histopathology, viral antigen expression across multiple organs, viral RNA levels, serology, and co-infection with Aleutian Disease Virus. Over 57% of the studied minks were co-infected with ADV.

Use Cases

• Analyze histopathological findings like interstitial pneumonia severity across the four clinical health status groups (FD, NCSc, CSc, FDc).
• Compare viral RNA levels detected in nasal swabs, throat swabs, lung tissue, and extra-respiratory organs such as spleen and intestine between groups.
• Investigate the correlation between clinical signs and systemic viral antigen expression in tissues like the nose, trachea, lungs, and lymph nodes.
• Assess serology data confirming SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies across all mink groups regardless of symptom presentation.
• Study the impact of Aleutian Disease Virus co-infection, present in over 57% of minks, on SARS-CoV-2 disease progression and pathology.

Strengths

• Data is derived from a controlled study of 45 minks with detailed group stratification based on clinical status.
• Findings include specific metrics like over 57% co-infection rate with Aleutian Disease Virus.
• Analysis covers multiple data modalities: pathology, immunohistochemistry, virology, and serology from a single infected farm.

Limitations

• The dataset is very small in scale at 41.9 KB, contained within a single DOCX file, limiting statistical power.
• Sample is geographically limited to a single mink farm, which may not represent infection dynamics in other settings.
• Data format is a descriptive document (DOCX), not a structured tabular dataset, requiring manual extraction for analysis.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Sandra Vreman.

Collection Method

Pathological, immunohistochemical, virological, and serological investigation of minks from an infected farm.

Time Range

Study period not specified, but related to 2020 SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in minks.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-24.

Geography

Netherlands (implied from description of initial outbreaks).