Coronavirus outbreaks at mink farms in Spain and the Netherlands have scientists digging into how the animals got infected and if they can spread it to people, AP reported. In the meantime, authorities have killed more than 1 million minks at breeding farms in both countries as a precaution. The virus that first infected people in China late last year came from an animal source, probably bats, and later spread from person to person, as other coronaviruses had done in the past. Some animals, including cats, tigers and dogs, have picked up the new coronavirus from people, but there hasn't been a documented case of animals spreading it back to humans. The outbreaks among the minks on farms in the Netherlands and Spain likely started with infected workers, although officials aren't certain. But it also is plausible that some workers later caught the virus back from the minks, the Dutch government and a researcher said, and scientists are exploring whether that was the case and how much of a threat such a spread might be.
