March 29, 2024

State Board of Animal Health recaps how COVID-19 affected Hoosier animal industry

INDIANAPOLIS — As COVID-19 has affected Hoosiers in multiple ways, the state’s animal and livestock industry has continued to adjust and adapt.

“To be honest, people continue to adapt to all changes including the livestock industry,” said Bret Marsh, Indiana Board of Animal Health state veterinarian.

Marsh said officials are keeping a cautious eye on mink in Europe and parts of the United States. He said it has been found that mink can get COVID-19 from those who care for them, and the question has become, can mink give COVID-19 back to their owners or to other people?

Marsh said mink is the only species they are aware of that has the potential to give it back to humans, but research is still being done. He said there are mink farms in Michigan, Utah and Wisconsin that are being monitored closely.

The state veterinarian said there have been a few dogs and cats that have tested positive for COVID-19, but those animals lived in homes with people who had COVID-19. Other than that, he said, dogs, cats, horses and other livestock are not vectors for carrying and passing on COVID-19.

Besides the closure of large meat processing plants near the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, Marsh said plants have remained open and going strong.

He said there have been a number of procedures that have been put into place at the larger Indiana plants and the plants closely follow additional recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Marsh said they are trying to compile information and lessons learned from COVID-19 to use as resources in case another large outbreak occurs.

He said that even though it was not a animal health issue, many livestock farmers were affected and meat processing plants were closed.