Hvorfor skal alle mink dø? Warum müssen alle Nerze sterben? Why do all mink have to die?

Det er et nærskud af coronavirusset, der har hærget Jorden. It's a close-up shot of the coronavirus that has been ravaging the Earth.

Tusinder af forskere har brugt milliarder på at studere virusset - Thousands of researchers have spent billions studying the virus

- for at finde ud af, hvordan man kan bekæmpe det. - to find out how to combat it.

Selvom mange lande kæmper mod 2. bølge, er der sket fremskridt. Although many countries are struggling against the 2nd wave, progress has been made.

Flere firmaer melder om en næsten færdig vaccine. Several companies are reporting a nearly finished vaccine.

Men verdens fjende nr. 1 er ved at ændre sig så meget, at man frygter - But the world's number one enemy is changing so much that you fear

- vi kan risikere, at forskernes vaccine ikke virker som forventet. - we may risk that the researchers' vaccine doesn't work as expected.

I Danmark er der 1000 minkbesætninger med i alt ca. 14 mio. mink - In Denmark, there are 1000 mink herds with a total of approx. 14 million mink.

- før aflivningen. - before euthanasia.

I juni opdager Statens Serum Institut smittede mink på en farm ved Sindal. In June, Statens Serum Institut discovers infected mink on a farm near Sindal.

Ugen efter konstateres virus på en minkfarm i samme område - The following week, the virus is detected on a mink farm in the same area.

- og også på en minkfarm i Frederikshavn, ca. 20 km fra Sindal. - and also on a mink farm in Frederikshavn, about 20 km from Sindal.

Myndighederne finder coronavirus på flere minkfarme og selv på Læsø. The authorities find coronavirus on several mink farms and even on Læsø.

Virusset har muteret og kan gå frem og tilbage mellem mennesker og mink. The virus has mutated and can pass back and forth between humans and mink.

Det kulminerer, da statsministeren beordrer alle mink aflivet. It culminates when the Prime Minister orders all mink to be killed.

Fortsat minkavl under epidemien indebærer risiko for folkesundheden. Continued mink farming during the epidemic poses risks to public health.

Kåre Mølbak fra SSI begrunder det med, at myndighederne er bange for - Kåre Mølbak from SSI explains that the authorities are afraid of

- at virusset er muteret så meget, at der kan opstå en ny coronapandemi. - that the virus has mutated enough to cause a new coronavirus pandemic.

Smitten spredes, fordi mink hverken holder afstand - The infection spreads because mink don't keep their distance

- eller bruger mundbind og sprit. - or use a face mask and rubbing alcohol.

Selvom regeringen endnu ikke lovligt kan beordre aflivning af raske mink - Although the government cannot yet legally order the killing of healthy mink

- så fastholder eksperter, at minkene udgør en sundhedsrisiko. - experts maintain that minks pose a health risk.

For at forstå hvorfor mutationen i mink er farlig - To understand why the mutation in mink is dangerous

- må vi forstå, hvordan den er opstået. - we need to understand how it came to be.

Denne model af cornavirusset har du nok set i mange versioner. You've probably seen this model of the coronavirus in many versions.

Den hedder corona, latinsk for glorie eller krone - It's called corona, Latin for halo or crown.

- pga. virussets pigge. De er vigtige i denne sammenhæng. - due to the spikes of the virus. They are important in this context.

Piggene kaldes "spikes" og det er ændringer i spikeproteinet - The spikes are called "spikes" and they are changes in the spike protein

- der gør forskere nervøse. - that make scientists nervous.

Spikeproteinet virker som nøgle for virusset - The spike protein acts as a key for the virus

- der forsøger at få adgang til celler fx i mennesker og mink. - that try to gain access to cells, e.g. in humans and mink.

Her ses en celle i en mink. Here you can see a cell in a mink.

Først møder virus cellens receptorer, der fungerer som en lås - First, the virus meets the cell's receptors, which act as a lock

- der skal åbnes, før virus kan få adgang cellen. - that must be opened before the virus can access the cell.

Coronavirussets spikes passer ikke perfekt i minkcellens receptorer - Coronavirus spikes don't fit perfectly in the mink cell receptors

- men nok til, at virus får adgang, og her sker mutationen. - but enough for the virus to gain access, and this is where the mutation occurs.

Virus spreder så sine gener og begynder at klone sig selv. The virus then spreads its genes and starts cloning itself.

Her sker der tit fejl. Når det klones - Mistakes happen here all the time. When it's cloned.

- kan der opstå genetiske ændringer, og det kaldes en mutation. - genetic changes can occur, and this is called a mutation.

De nye viruspartikler trænger så ind i andre celler. The new virus particles then enter other cells.

Processen gentages, og det gør os syge. The process is repeated and it makes us sick.

Man skal forestille sig, at der opstår en virussky i minken - Imagine a virus cloud forming in the mink.

- af millioner af klonede viruspartikler med små mutationer. - of millions of cloned virus particles with small mutations.

Når en mink så nyser, vinder de viruspartikler, der hurtigst kommer - Then, when a mink sneezes, the virus particles that arrive the fastest win

- ind i cellen i den nye mink, og som så kloner sig selv. - into the cell of the new mink, which then clones itself.

Det stærkeste virus kommer videre, og processen starter forfra. The strongest virus moves on and the process starts all over again.

Minkene står tæt - The minks are close together

- og smitten er spredt hurtigt på de minkfarme med coronavirus. - and the infection has spread quickly on the mink farms with coronavirus.

Tilbage til det oprindelige coronavirus og spikeproteinet. Back to the original coronavirus and the spike protein.

Man har fundet fem minkvarianter af virus - Five mink variants of the virus have been found

- med opsigtsvækkende ændringer gensammensætningen. - with startling changes to the composition.

Minkvarianterne er inddelt i clustrer - The mink varieties are divided into clusters -

- og kaldes cluster 1, 2, 3, 4 og 5. - and are called clusters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Varianter kan mutere så meget, at de ikke mere smitter mennesker - Variants can mutate so much that they no longer infect humans

- men det er ikke sket endnu, og de udgør smittefare. - but that hasn't happened yet, and they pose a risk of infection.

De første fire clustrer har ikke skabt bekymring, men cluster 5 har. The first four clusters have not caused concern, but cluster 5 has.

- Cluster 5. - Den nye cluster 5. - Cluster 5. - The new cluster 5.

Kun 12 personer har haft cluster 5. Only 12 people have had cluster 5.

Men myndighederne er bekymret, for der er flere mutationer her. But the authorities are concerned because there are several mutations here.

Når man laver vaccine, bruges en kopi af virus - When making a vaccine, a copy of the virus is used

- som kroppen kan danne antistoffer imod. - that the body can create antibodies against.

Mange covid-19-vacciner baseres på det spikeprotein, vi kender - Many COVID-19 vaccines are based on the spike protein we know

- men i minkvarianten er det ændret. - but in the mink variant, it's changed.

Mutationerne er sket på proteinets receptorbindingssted. The mutations have occurred at the protein's receptor binding site.

Stedet er interessant, for det kan antistoffer binde sig til - The site is interesting because antibodies can bind to it

- for at holde virus ude. - to keep viruses out.

Coronavaccine er designet, så antistofferne sætter sig fast - Coronavirus vaccine is designed to allow the antibodies to stick

- på spikeproteinet og forhindrer virus i at trænge ind i cellen. - on the spike protein and prevents the virus from entering the cell.

Når bindingsstedet ændres - When the binding site changes

- kan antistofferne miste evnen til at bekæmpe minkvarianten. - the antibodies may lose their ability to fight the mink variant.

I de to første uger af oktober var halvdelen af alle covid-19-smittede - In the first two weeks of October, half of all COVID-19 infections were

- i Nordjylland, smittet med en af de fem minkvarianter. - in North Jutland, infected with one of the five mink variants.

Forskerne diskuterer, om mutationerne i cluster 5 er så store - Researchers are debating whether the mutations in cluster 5 are that big

- at en vaccine til det første coronavirus ikke virker. - that a vaccine for the first coronavirus doesn't work.

Frygten er, at virus muterer endnu mere ifølge SSI. The fear is that the virus will mutate even more, according to SSI.

Tilbage på kortet kan vi se - Back on the map we can see

- at der er minkfarme i hele Danmark og millioner af mink. - that there are mink farms all over Denmark and millions of mink.

Der er fundet coronavirus blandt mink i disse kommuner. Coronavirus has been found among mink in these municipalities.

Myndighederne frygter, der opstår et virusreservoir - Authorities fear the emergence of a virus reservoir

- så minkfarme bliver områder, hvor virus udvikles og spreder sig nemt. - so mink farms become areas where the virus develops and spreads easily.

Frygten er, at mink smitter mennesker - The fear is that mink infect humans

- mens vi spritter af og bruger mundbind. - while we hose off and use masks.

Og så øger man risikoen for, at der ikke bare er fem minkvariationer – And then you increase the risk that there aren't just five mink variations.

- men også cluster 6, 7, og 8, der giver tilsvarende problemer. - but also clusters 6, 7, and 8, which cause similar problems.