Monkey Pox!

“I just heard on the radio (NPR)this morning that cases of Monkey Pox have been reported in the upper midwest. Until recently they've never occured in north America. They were apparently spread by prairie dogs. The symptoms are fever and chills. (Lyra has the only known vaccine)”

“Ummm, sounds more like prairie dog pox than monkey pox.”

“Prairie dogs are vectors for lots of nasty disease. Apparently monkeypox is caught by lots of small mammels like rats, rabbits, and prairie dogs.”

“All small mammals must be eradicated to save us from this evil infection.”

“oh no! the only cure is a kiss from one of my monkeys. i'll call them right now and tell them to get out there and start kissing rats, rabbits and prairie dogs, pronto!

it does sound like a cute disease, though!”

“So the monkeys are off the hook then?”

“WTF??? In order to stay healthy, animals are going to kiss lyra'a monkey?”

“Inter-species innuendo here!”

“yeah baby! LOL!!”

“Who needs monkey pox?


You people are sick enough!”

“Thanks Tom.”

“Dang! After last years outbreak of chicken herpies I'm not sure the midwest can take another hit like this!”

“Chicken herpes? From kissing their little beaks?”

“Yeah, what's up with the Midwest anyway? Any othere farm animals we need to worry about?”

“Beaks?
Peckers?

Soon the Upper Midwest will rival Baltimore with its proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases!

Renoun awaits you!”

“You said your monkeys had been tested before you lent them to me lyra!!!!!”

“I KNEW IT! i didn't have sars, it was monkey pox!


dam, all that climbing on trees and craving bananas should have tipped me off....”

“Were you koo-koo for Cocoa Puffs?”

“LMAO!! i can't decide which of you people i'm more scared of.”

“One would think it would be a simple choice...”

“ooh ooh aah ahh eeh eeh”

“Now they'll all fall prostrate, yelling to Her Adorableness, "Pick me, pick me!"”

“As long as they don't fall on their prostates...”

“YOWIE KAZOWIE!”

“look, you all scare the hell out of me, alright? is that better? LOL!!
;-)”

“



Thank you animation factory”

“aero wasn't bullchittin'.

I heard a story on NPR yesterday afternoon about it.

The authorities have traced the monkey pox to a pet dealer.

The pox is carried by Gambian Giant Pouched Rats and passed to prarie dogs sold as pets.

Wow, I'd love to have a giant rat!”

“As usual, my posts are totally factual.”

“A POX on all your monkeys!”

“a pox upon anyone with random capital letters in their name!!

dudes, we were watching the news last night, and the monkeys were all getting scared they'd get Monkey Pox! isn't that adorable? i told them that only happens to monkeys who don't do the dishes and clean the house and stuff. ha!”

“You could always pretend to give them a monkeypox vaccine.”

“I can't think of a better name for a disease. You have to admit, it as a nice ring to it. (disclaimer: no disrespect or ill will meant towards those that have it)”

“The monkeys are getting a bad rap, though. Blame the prairie dogs or rats!”

“Somehow, rat pox and prairie dog pox don't roll off the tongue like monkeypox...”

“I bet there's an exotic pet dealer who's busy transferring ownership of property to other family members' names right now. Fire up the ambulance chasers.”

“If'n you are having intense cravings for banannas, suddenly vomit then wanna make that your second meal, have a desire to pick up your turds and fling them at someone, I suggest you monkey-see a doctor and monkey-do the right thing by quaranteening yourself.”

“Monkey Pox!
You've the cutest little Monkey Pox!
There's not another who could make me balk!
Monkey Pox!
My poor heart is jumpin'
You sure have started somethin'....”

“Not much of a laughing matter around these parts. A family of 3 caught it in Marathon County, which is just to the south of me about 50 miles. They bought some prairies dogs at the annual 4-H animal swap meet from a dealer (the good news was that all dealers were registered, so tracking the source wasn't too difficult).

It was quite a start for infectious disease investigators in Wisconsin -- they determined it was a "pox" virsus, but one they'd never seen before. That must have given a few shudders in this age of anthrax/small pox fears. It took the CDC to figure out which one.

Monkey pox is related to small pox. Originated in Africa among monkeys, hence the name. As many as 10% of African victims die. But none here that severely stricken. The sores/pustules that erupt are pretty nasty looking.

More cases were announced this a.m. in Wisconsin. The danger would get really significant if any infected animals came in contact with wild populations, since rabbits and squirrels are easily infected.

Another case of exotic species fetishists ignoring how their "hobby" could cause environmental and health problems. This disease did not exist in the Western Hemisphere until an infected animal was brought in from Africa. Can they stop it now? Hopefully, but history would suggest unlikely.

The best place for prairie dogs is in their burrows in the wild. And the best place for Gambian Giant Rats is in Gambia, in the wild.”

“Update tonight: one of the prairie dogs sold in central Wisconsin has yet to be accounted for and authorities are trying to find the buyer to determine if the animal is infected or has infected anyone. They are hoping it doesn't get released in the wild. All they know is -- yes, start the culinary jokes now (I couldn't help the thoughts myself) -- an Asian man bought it.

Actually a worrisome thought. The story on the news emphasized that the owner should not be worried that he is in any trouble, that the authorities just need to account for the animal and all who came in contact with it. The Wausau/Marathon County area has a large Hmong community and there are sometimes less than perfect communications between their culture and officialdom, so if the person did not buy it as a delicacy food item, there might be a danger of the prairie dog being let go so the owner could avoid dealing with authorities.

Imagine what could happen if local squirrels, chipmunks and gophers became carriers.”

“Not good.”

“frikkin golphers....i'm gonna have nightmares now”

“And if the gophers bit the golfers, oh my!

lyra, do you have a "bathroom monkey"?

Erupting pustules......now, there's a pretty picture.”

“"Sally, wouldn't you rather have a kitty or a puppy for a pet?"

"No, Mommy, I want a Prairie Dog or a Gambian Rat! Waaaa!"”

“When are people going to learn that Vermin Are Not Pets?”

“Aero said "Waaaaa," LOL!!

ask that question to Tilt, bitpusher. hee hee!! just jokes.”

“Are monkeys vermin?”

“And then there's the guy with CRABS for pets!

Whoa, if your GIANT Gambian Rats get the crabs, lookout!”

“(AP) Health and agriculture officials in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio and South Carolina knocked on doors at homes and visited pet shops, trying to track animals sold to individuals and other pet stores by Phil's Pocket Pets in suburban Villa Park.”

“When a young Wisconsin family of three brought home two $95 prairie dogs from a Mother's Day event, they never guessed the furry little additions to their five-acre hobby farm could confine them to their home.

But that's just where Tammy Kautzer is biding her time with her husband and 3-year-old daughter, quarantined after coming down with a suspected case of monkeypox.
...from the same article...

"They said we can't leave until the scabs fall off the sores," said Kautzer, 28, of Dorchester. "I only have a few more scabs to fall off. My daughter's are gone."”

“U.S. bans sale of prairie dogs.

Any bets on how long it is before someone bureaucrat mis-reads the order and thinks it's a ban on selling canine dogs?”