Mysterious illness caused by pet prairie dogs is possibly monkeypox

The Associated Press ^ | 06/07/03 | The Associated Press

[Orange1998]

By The Associated Press

(6/07/03 - MADISON, WI) — A virus related to smallpox that has never been detected in the Western Hemisphere may be the cause of a mysterious disease spreading from pet prairie dogs to people across the upper Midwest, health officials said Saturday.

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Arsenal of weapons found in girl's bedroom; four teens arrested Watch for construction closures on Houston roads this weekend Fire erupts at plant on Ship Channel Driver flees scene after fiery accident kills his passenger Argument in strip center parking lot turns into deadly shooting Three-alarm strip center fire destroys nail salon Jury to decide fate of officers after immigrant died in their custody Family narrowly avoids tragedy while returning from water park Handcuffed suspect escapes from back seat of patrol car More recent stories Dr. James Hughes, director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a group of prairie dogs sold from a suburban Chicago pet distributor appears to be infected with the monkeypox virus, a member of the same viral family that causes smallpox but is not nearly as deadly.

Monkeypox has typically been found in West African rain forests, Hughes said. The death rate among infected humans has ranged from 1 percent to 10 percent.

Hughes said although monkeypox is spread primarily through rodents in Africa, scientists haven't ruled out person-to-person transmission.

"We're in the very early stages of classifying this virus," Hughes said. "We're not certain."

[Free Trapper]

Nope,we don't get drunk.

Is going outside and yelling at each other what husbands and wives do in S.Carolina when they get naked?

We find more satisfaction in other ways than yelling at each other when naked where I'm from but I'll talk to my wife and see if she wants to try it out just to find out what y'all get out of it. ;O)

[visualops]

Is going outside and yelling at each other what husbands and wives do in S.Carolina when they get naked?

uh...not me and the hubby ;^)

However, our neighbors informed us the charming family that lived here previously would have drunken nekkid arguements outside, which apparently ended when he got in his truck and drove around the yard lol

Just to complete the history, we lived here for a few years, lived in another home for a couple years, then came back to this house, sadly to see it trashed. We are still picking up glass in the back yard, although we have managed to grow back about 2/3 of the grass, and I've replanted my flower and vegetable gardens.

[Eaker]

Just a fixin' to throw me another dog on the fire!!!

;>)

Eaker

[Mulder]

Just a fixin' to throw me another dog on the fire!!!

LOL!

When you toss "fluffy the prarie dog" on there, make sure you get it real crispy and very well-done, so as to kill off any turd world germs.

[Shooter 2.5]

I mentioned this little shindig to fiveshooter and he said he would like to tag along. He said he doesn't want to shoot anything but he want to be there to take pictures. He wants to try his hand at more video clips and see if he can catch muzzle blasts. His video clips are at the end of this picture host:

http://www.imageevent.com/fiveshooter/clements

[pttttt]

If you want to get a smallpox vaccination now, NIH is having clinical trials. See NIH Seeks Subjects For Smallpox Vaccine Trials. (Maybe a job for Steve Hatfill while he waits out Amerithrax?)

[Eaker]

Distance to clay bird is 65 yds. Shot fired offhand. Note the hole left behind is as big as the target is.

65 yards off hand at a 4" clay!!??!!

Wow!

Eaker

[TexasCowboy]

Good pics, G.!
Heck, yeah! We need someone who can catch the muzzle blasts on film!

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

The first case of human monkeypox was identified in 1970, and through 1979, 55 cases of monkeypox were confirmed by the WHO in forested areas of western and central Africa,

Someone has probably caught and pointed this out already, if so, it bears repeating; in NINE years, there were 55 cases in W/Central Africa and in the Midwest US we have 19 cases (so far) in a couple of weeks?

Something smells, somewhere.

[patriciaruth]

Dogpox and catpox?

Tapeworm Taenia canis, blood poisoning from bites, cat scratch fever, toxoplasmosis, Mycoplasma felis which can get in joints and cause arthritis, etc.

[Shooter 2.5]

Yeah, he does that. I took the video and I knew he was going to hit it because he was feeling pretty good that day. It is possible that he does miss some by a couple of inches and the blast shatters the clay but not that time.

I've seen him go five for five but I couldn't tell you which Casull he used. He plinks with .454's and fires a couple of hundred rounds at a time.

I tied to call him a couple of minutes ago and the line is busy.

[Eaker]

He plinks with .454's and fires a couple of hundred rounds at a time.

Once again, WOW!!!!

Eaker

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

CDC Health System...$500 Trillion and counting--
Homeland Security...$500 billion and counting--
Taurus Ultralight .357Mag...$500
Ammo...$14/Box

.......*Priceless*

[Shooter 2.5]

Thank you for the invitation.

I'm trying to see what you guys might be interested in shooting. I have a match Garand and a Mateba .357. I have to think of some weird stuff someone would like to shoot.

My carry pistol is a Springfield V10 and since it doesn't have any muzzle flip it's kind of unusual.

I have a broomhandle but it was piercing primers the first and last time I shot it. I should bring it out and see what I can do with it. It sounds like the firing pin may be too long.

[Shooter 2.5]

He bought one of those casting machines and he uses quite a bit of lead at a time. The big problem is the horrible prices he pays for brass. Powder and primers don't cost that much.

He's taught me a lot but I have a hard time visualizing stuff that I don't own.

[TexasCowboy]

Well, Shooter, since I've never seen any of those except the Garand, all of those would be unusual to me.
If it makes a noise and spits a bullet out the end - I LIKE IT!

[TexasCowboy]

LOL!
Point taken, Sunflower!

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

[TexasCowboy]

Sunflower, I'm just an old, dumb country boy.
What does your tag line mean?