Derek Kravitz and Bianca Fortis, Brown Institute for Media Innovation; Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press
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A Michigan taxidermist who got infected with COVID-19 is at the center of a medical mystery that borders on the bizarre: Did he get infected by a mink the animal susceptible to the virus and farmed for its fur or a human?
Medical experts have, so far, been unable to answer that question, though records obtained in a joint Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and county health investigation show a potential link to a nearby mink farm.
In early February, a taxidermist living in Eaton County, became infected with COVID-19. A sample from his positive test result was sent to the state lab to be genetically sequenced and came back as connected to a mutation of the virus found in infected mink, whose fur is used for coats and clothing.
California s Working-Age Latinos Are Disproportionately Dying of COVID-19
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Have a Case of a COVID Variant? No One Is Going To Tell You
There are arguments for and against notifying patients.
Covid-19 infections from variant strains are quickly spreading across the U.S., but there’s one big problem: Lab officials say they can’t tell patients or their doctors whether someone has been infected by a variant.
Federal rules around who can be told about the variant cases are so confusing that public health officials may merely know the county where a case has emerged but can’t do the kind of investigation and deliver the notifications needed to slow the spread, according to Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
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Covid-19 infections from variant strains are quickly spreading across the U.S., but there’s one big problem: Lab officials say they can’t tell patients or their doctors whether someone has been infected by a variant.
Federal rules around who can be told about the variant cases are so confusing that public health officials may merely know the county where a case has emerged but can’t do the kind of investigation and deliver the notifications needed to slow the spread, according to Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
“It could be associated with a person in a high-risk congregate setting or it might not be, but without patient information, we don’t know what we don’t know,” Hamilton said. The group has asked federal officials to waive the rules. “Time is ticking.”
Feb 26, 2021 11:55 AM EDT
COVID-19 infections from variant strains are quickly spreading across the U.S., but there’s one big problem: Lab officials say they can’t tell patients or their doctors whether someone has been infected by a variant.
Federal rules around who can be told about the variant cases are so confusing that public health officials may merely know the county where a case has emerged but can’t do the kind of investigation and deliver the notifications needed to slow the spread, according to Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
“It could be associated with a person in a high-risk congregate setting or it might not be, but without patient information, we don’t know what we don’t know,” Hamilton said. The group has asked federal officials to waive the rules. “Time is ticking.”
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