CDC: Michigan taxidermist may have caught COVID-19 from infected mink Derek Kravitz and Bianca Fortis, Brown Institute for Media Innovation; Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press Denmark to slaughter 15M farmed minks over coronavirus fears Replay Video UP NEXT 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.