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Experimental infection of mink with SARS-COV-2 Omicron (BA.1) variant leads to symptomatic disease with lung pathology and transmission
Jenni Virtanen, Kirsi Aaltonen, Kristel Kegler, Vinaya Venkat, Thanakorn Niamsap, Lauri Kareinen, Rasmus Malmgren, Olga Kivelä, Nina Atanasova, Pamela Österlund, Teemu Smura, Antti Sukura, Tomas Strandin, Lara Dutra, Olli Vapalahti, Heli Nordgren, Ravi Kant, Tarja Sironen
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.16.480524
Jenni Virtanen
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Kirsi Aaltonen
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Kristel Kegler
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Vinaya Venkat
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Thanakorn Niamsap
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Lauri Kareinen
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Rasmus Malmgren
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Olga Kivelä
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Nina Atanasova
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
3Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki
Pamela Österlund
4Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki
Teemu Smura
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Antti Sukura
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Tomas Strandin
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Lara Dutra
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Olli Vapalahti
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
5Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki
Heli Nordgren
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Ravi Kant
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Tarja Sironen
2University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Abstract
We report an experimental infection of American mink with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and show that minks remain virus RNA positive for days, develop clinical signs and histopathological changes, and transmit the virus to uninfected recipients warranting further studies and preparedness.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Copyright
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Posted February 16, 2022.
Experimental infection of mink with SARS-COV-2 Omicron (BA.1) variant leads to symptomatic disease with lung pathology and transmission
Jenni Virtanen, Kirsi Aaltonen, Kristel Kegler, Vinaya Venkat, Thanakorn Niamsap, Lauri Kareinen, Rasmus Malmgren, Olga Kivelä, Nina Atanasova, Pamela Österlund, Teemu Smura, Antti Sukura, Tomas Strandin, Lara Dutra, Olli Vapalahti, Heli Nordgren, Ravi Kant, Tarja Sironen
bioRxiv 2022.02.16.480524; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.16.480524
Experimental infection of mink with SARS-COV-2 Omicron (BA.1) variant leads to symptomatic disease with lung pathology and transmission
Jenni Virtanen, Kirsi Aaltonen, Kristel Kegler, Vinaya Venkat, Thanakorn Niamsap, Lauri Kareinen, Rasmus Malmgren, Olga Kivelä, Nina Atanasova, Pamela Österlund, Teemu Smura, Antti Sukura, Tomas Strandin, Lara Dutra, Olli Vapalahti, Heli Nordgren, Ravi Kant, Tarja Sironen
bioRxiv 2022.02.16.480524; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.02.16.480524
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