MonkeyPox

I saw a small child with monkey pox in 2000 when I went on a mission trip with Eternal Hope for Haiti. The per capita income there is $360.00 per year so I know he didn't get it from a pet store. He had bumps that looked like chicken pox, but they followed the path of his nurevous system ( down his spine and branched out. ) I took a pic, but my camera strap is covering it partially.
Ursula

I have seen Prairie Dogs at my clinic. I agree they make only marginal pets. Most are wild caught and they don't tame easily.

Oramar, I thank you for telling is straight... th news is playing it like ALL PDogs are carrying the disease and this is a potential risk nation wide. It is an isolated pocket from 1 pet distributor in the upper midwest.

Monkeypox is only one of many poxes that can jump from animals to humans. Remember, one of the original species found to be useful in variolation(sp), an early form of vaccination for smallpox, was the cow.

Arabs are often infected with camelpox from tending their herds. In fact, it has been speculated that Saddam had been innoculating his troops this way in smallpox was released. Many of the captured troops had been freshly innoculated, although I haven't heard what species of the virus it was.

After reading many books written about Level 4, the CDC fight against many viruses around the world, and a couple of excellent ones about smallpox in particular, recent events do not surprise me. Many experts have for years speculated about the transmission of virulent diseases due to our rapid lifestyles. Did you know a form of simian Ebola was found in the US, just outside Washington, DC? Scary, isn't it, or V-E-R-Y I-N-TER-Est-Ing to those of us with a morbid curiousity. I'd LOVE to be inside a Level 4!

There are many great books written about diseases. Hit your local library.