According to the New York Times, so far seventeen people in Wisconsin, ten in Indiana, and one in Illinois have become infected, but the rate of reported infection is expected to rise as people become familiar with the symptoms and seek treatment. The means of transmission are not well understood, making it difficult to be certain that the disease is contained. So far, however, there have been no documented cases of human-to-human transmission in the U.S., as all of those infected have had direct contact with prairie dogs.
This is yet another reason why it’s best to stick with domesticated animals when looking for a pet for your kids.
“A pox upon you and your, err, monkey!”
Hmmm, not quite the same.
OK, I’m not big into conspiracy theories (actually I’m not at all into conspiracy theories) but the timing of this outbreak is interesting.
Monkeypox is a close cousin to smallpox. It’s transmission capabilities are quite the same. Though its effects upon an unvaccinated population are much smaller than smallpox (it’s a less deadly virus).
Sounds like a perfect virus to introduce into the US population to study how and how quickly the US government/medical establishment can deal with any type of pox outbreak.
Now who would this be of value to? The US government (military, executive branch, CDC, etc.) to get a grip on what they’d actually face during a smallpox outbreak.
But it might also serve the purposes of a terrorist organization. As in, they may be “casing” the US response capability.