Posted on 06/08/2003 5:32:57 AM PDT by Prince Charles
Infected prairie dogs traced to Villa Park distributor
June 8, 2003
BY COURTNEY K. WADE Staff Reporter
A distributor in suburban Chicago appears to be the source for a smallpox-related virus spreading from pet prairie dogs to people in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Saturday.
The virus is believed to be transmitted to humans by infected prairie dogs and Gambian rats. This is the first time the virus, similar to monkeypox common in Africa, has been found in the Western hemisphere.
By Saturday, Wisconsin reported 17 human cases, mostly affecting residents in the southeast of the state. Eight people in Milwaukee were ill. Illinois and Indiana had one case each, officials from the three states confirmed. No one has died from the disease; four people in Wisconsin were hospitalized, said Dr. Jeffery Davis, chief epidemiologist in Wisconsin.
The virus was spread by direct contact with a group of about 30 infected prairie dogs and an unknown number of infected Gambian rats that came from a pet shop distributor in Villa Park, said Dr. James Hughes, director of the Atlanta based-CDC. About 30 prairie dogs that may have been infected were shipped from Texas to Illinois, where a distributor sold them to pet stores and at a swap meet in Wausau, Wis, according to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The Illinois case involves an employee of the distributor, said Dr. Eric Whitaker, Illinois Department of Public Health director.
People infected by the virus, which is in the orthopoxvirus family that also includes smallpox and cowpox, could experience fever, chills, muscle aches and later develop a distinct rash of bumps. They should avoid contact with potentially infected prairie dogs and wash their hands thoroughly, Hughes said.
"It is very important that physicians, veterinarians and people should be on the lookout for this virus and report it," Hughes said.
Wisconsin officials said an emergency order was issued to prohibit importation, sale, distribution and display of prairie dogs.
Contributing: AP
It gets curiouser and curiouser.
Of the people who became ill, none are seriously ill.
Part of me wants to say, "Duh!". People should leave the wild animals in the wild and not try to make pets of them. It is well-known prairie dogs can carry bubonic plague, too. Another reason to stay away from them.
BTW, monkeypox infection can be fatal. It's mortality rate is in the range of between 1 and 30%, according to the linked article.
Actually, I like Wisconsin a lot, especially the Chippewa Falls area.
And "Monkey Pox" is just plain funny.
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