Pandemic scare! 125 viruses found lurking in China's fur farms; several new and high risk

China's fur-farmed animals are hosting a range of viruses, and some of them also show a high risk of crossing over to humans, new research has revealed. The study published in the journal Nature states that there are dozens of viruses on these farms, including 36 previously unknown ones.

These viruses are circulating among animals such as minks, rabbits, foxes and raccoon dogs.

"For viruses, these are good conditions, as having multiple opportunities to infect many individuals in various host species can help a virus to evolve and jump to a new species. Following adaptation, one of those new species the virus jumps into might be humans," study co-author John Pettersson of Uppsala University, Sweden, told Newsweek.

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Researchers took lung and intestine samples from 461 animals that died across China between 2021 and 2024 and conducted a genetic analysis. 412 of these animals were from fur farms.

They discovered a whopping 125 viruses in these samples. Of these, 36 were novel and 39 presented a "high risk" of jumping between species, including humans.Thirteen of the high-risk viruses are entirely new.

The discovered viruses included several types of bird flu found in guinea pigs, minks and muskrats. The researchers also came across seven types of coronaviruses. However, none of them were closely related to SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

Viruses that jump from animals to humans

They also found paramyxoviruses linked to causing measles and mumps in humans. This family of viruses can easily cross from species to species.

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Pettersson said that the reason why some viruses can easily make the jump from one species to another is not fully clear. It depends on various factors, such as evolutionary rate, host-virus evolution and more, he told Newsweek.

"We need more studies to have a better understanding of virus-host jumps," he said.

Another startling discovery was the presence of 11 zoonotic viruses, ones that have already been seen in humans. These included hepatitis E and Japanese encephalitis.

Raccoon dogs carry the maximum number of potentially high-risk viruses at 10. They are native to East Asia and look like small foxes.

Notably, previous research has warned against the risks of fur farming, as it is linked to viral cross-species transmission.