doi:10.3389/fvets.2021.805004engBadiola, J. J.Otero, A.Sevilla, E.Marín, B.García Martínez, M.Betancor, M.Sola, D.Pérez Lázaro, S.Lozada, J.Velez, C.Chiner-Oms, Á.Comas, I.Cancino-Muñoz, I.Monleón, EMonzón, M.Acín, C.Bolea, R.Moreno, B.SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on a Spanish mink farm: epidemiological, molecular, and pathological studiesART-2022-127501Farmed minks have been reported to be highly susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and may represent a risk to humans. In this study, we describe the first outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 occurred on a mink farm in Spain, between June and July 2020, involving 92,700 animals. The outbreak started shortly after some farm workers became seropositive for SARS-CoV-2. Minks showed no clinical signs compatible with SARS-CoV-2 infection throughout the outbreak. Samples from 98 minks were collected for histopathological, serological, and molecular studies. Twenty out of 98 (20.4%) minks were positive by RT-qPCR and 82 out 92 (89%) seroconverted. This finding may reflect a rapid spread of the virus at the farm with most of the animals overcoming the infection. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 was detected by RT-qPCR in 30% of brain samples from positive minks. Sequencing analysis showed that the mink sequences were not closely related with the other mink SARS-CoV-2 sequences available, and that this mink outbreak has its probable origin in one of the genetic variants that were prevalent in Spain during the first COVID-19 epidemic wave. Histological studies revealed bronchointerstitial pneumonia in some animals. Immunostaining of viral nucleocapsid was also observed in nasal turbinate tissue. Farmed minks could therefore constitute an important SARS-CoV-2 reservoir, contributing to virus spread among minks and humans. Consequently, continuous surveillance of mink farms is needed.2022http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/11062710.3389/fvets.2021.805004http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/110627oai:zaguan.unizar.es:110627info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII/COV20-00140Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8 (2022), 805004[9 pp.]byhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess