Occupational and environmental exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in and around infected mink farms

• Published in: Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) Vol. 78; no. 12; pp. 893 - 899
• Main Authors: de Rooij, Myrna M T, Hakze-Van der Honing, Renate W, Hulst, Marcel M, Harders, Frank, Engelsma, Marc, van de Hoef, Wouter, Meliefste, Kees, Nieuwenweg, Sigrid, Oude Munnink, Bas B, van Schothorst, Isabella, Sikkema, Reina S, van der Spek, Arco N, Spierenburg, Marcel, Spithoven, Jack, Bouwstra, Ruth, Molenaar, Robert-Jan, Koopmans, Marion, Stegeman, Arjan, van der Poel, Wim H M, Smit, Lidwien A M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 01.12.2021; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Series: Original research
• Subjects: air pollution; Air sampling; Bedding; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease transmission; Dust; environment; Environmental assessment; Environmental risk; Exposure; Exposure Assessment; farmers; Farms; Farmworkers; Gene sequencing; Genomes; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Housing; Laboratories; Mustela; Occupational exposure; Occupational health; Ribonucleic acid; Risk assessment; RNA; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viruses; Whole genome sequencing; Workers; Netherlands
• ISSN: 1351-0711; 1470-7926
• DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2021-107443

ObjectiveUnprecedented SARS-CoV-2 infections in farmed minks raised immediate concerns regarding transmission to humans and initiated intensive environmental investigations to assess occupational and environmental exposure.MethodsAir sampling was performed at infected Dutch mink farms, at farm premises and at nearby residential sites. A range of other environmental samples were collected from minks’ housing units, including bedding materials. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was analysed in all samples by quantitative PCR.ResultsInside the farms, considerable levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were found in airborne dust, especially in personal inhalable dust samples (approximately 1000–10 000 copies/m3). Most of the settling dust samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA (82%, 75 of 92). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was not detected in outdoor air samples, except for those collected near the entrance of the most recently infected farm. Many samples of minks’ housing units and surfaces contained SARS-CoV-2 RNA.ConclusionsInfected 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.