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."

[TexasCowboy]

Now THAT would be a contest!!
See who can get close enough to skin one without hitting it!

[Z-28]

"Saddam did not have biological weapons; Saddam did not have biological weapons; Saddam did not have biological weapons; Saddam did not have biological weapons; Saddam did not have biological weapons..."

All you Liberals repeat that 1,000 times.

[Z-28]

"I wonder too if monkey pox have ever been seen in the US previously?

CDC says first outbreak in the Westertn Hemisphere:

http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r030607.htm

[Z-28]

Gambian Giant Rat - 2 feet long at 7 weeks - yikes!

[Squantos]

The other skill is to follow up a .50BMG shot that hits a mound .... tossing the Doggie straight up into the air. As said doggie is still airborne , someone yells "pull" and the hit must be made while the critter is still in the air.

A version of Panhandle Trap and Skeet when were outta clays on a slow day !

Stay Safe !

[Orange1998]

It's so big it has a shadow. Yikes.

[Eaker]

A version of Panhandle Trap and Skeet when were outta clays on a slow day !

Wow!!! We gotta do a shoot in yer neck of the woods!!!!

I like yer thinkin'!!!!

Eaker

[wardaddy]

that reminds me of a slow day as a kid deer hunting on a pipeline right o way and a buzzard kept circling right above me. I knew that sucker was letting the deer know I was around so finally he got too low and got in a sort of stalled thermal and I pegged his ass with my .06 with 3X9 Leupold.

Didn't know at the time it was illegal.

[bonesmccoy]

Coincidence?

Uh ... yeah...

right!

LOL

[bonesmccoy]

LOL

Yes... there is no biological threat to the US.

Repeat this 10,000 times...

and then note which political party keeps discussing "nationalized" healthcare.

[Eaker]

I wanted to pop this lil'guy, but TheMom would only let me shoot him with a camera!

Eaker

[Tijeras_Slim]

I've been having a problem with ground squirrels here... Unfortunately, the neighbors are still a bit close to utilize proper firepower. My solution is to live trap them and let them go down at the Forest Service Headquarters. That way, they spend their time fixing their own landscaping instead of trying to burn down mine.

[bonesmccoy]

I think it's less "strange" and more "convincing evidence" an example of ecological terrorism.

[Calvin Locke]

My guess is that the viruses have been around, just the symptom have been misdiagnosed.

Or, the environmental movement failed to note other reasons for controlling varmints and the like. Deer are hosts for
deer ticks which carry Lyme disease. Granted, I think it starts in rats and the like.

Then there is "Earth changes". Unusually dry weather leads to an increase of fecal dust from viral infected rodents.

[TexasCowboy]

Hell, I always thought prairiedogs were kind of useless!
You've just instilled a new respect in me for the little varmints!

Kind of like running over a cat several times, laying it in the sun to dry and then using it for a Frisbee, prairiedogs are obviously very useful!

Were you ever able to find the remnants of a direct hit?

[TexasCowboy]

Deer hunting in Mertzon, TX.
Sitting on a windmill waiting for the deer to come to the water trough.
892,463 sheep decided they needed to drink before the deer got there.
ONE sheep spotted me on that windmill.
Five minutes later 892,463 sheep were looking at me.
Since I didn't have that many shells, I unclimbed the windmill and went to camp.

[Squantos]

Believe it or not.....ya do more damage with a 22-250 Hollowpoint on em than a .50BMG ball round. I know that's hard to believe but trust me and see for yourself.

Stay Safe !

[Eaker]

Five minutes later 892,463 sheep were looking at me.

Prolly not the first time knowing yer reputation!!

;>)

Eaker

[TexasCowboy]

They didn't have that love light shining in their eyes, Tom.
They were saying to each other, "That's the ugliest friggin' bird I ever did see!"

[wardaddy]

Mulies or whitetails?....that's out towards were Central Texas become West Texas isn't it?

We had a lease on Lake Buchanan near Burnet in the 70s. Small deer but great terrain on the Edwards Plateau....long shots if you wanted them....lots of feral goats, hogs, and turkeys....as well as rattlers and coyotes. It was a huge lease by our standards....about 16K....part of a Goodrich heir's huge cattle spread. I think he had around 100k.