Monkeypox outbreak hits US

Native rodents known as prairie dogs may be carriers

Native rodents known as prairie dogs may be carriers At least four people have been infected with monkeypox – a rare smallpox-like disease, US health officials say. More than 30 possible cases are being investigated. The disease, which is not usually fatal to humans, has previously been confined to countries in Central and West Africa. No-one has died so far since the first cases began to emerge in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana in mid-May. Most of those affected had contact with prairie dogs – a type of wild rodent which lives in burrows on the western US plains, and is sold as pets. Spread to the wild? A senior official with the Center for Infectious Diseases (CDC) told reporters seven people were in hospital out of “33 cases of rash illness…under investigation.” Monkeypox Not usually fatal to humans Causes fever and rashes Found primarily in Central and West Africa However, health authorities had seen “no information about person to person transmission”, CDC deputy director Steve Ostroff was quoted as saying by French news agency AFP. The death rate from monkeypox in Africa has ranged from 1% to 10% of cases. Health authorities believe the source of the infection was a Gambian giant rat, which is known to be susceptible to the virus. It was sold together with a shipment of prairie dogs, by an animal distributor in Illinois. The biggest concern is that the virus could spread to wild rodents – especially rabbits – and become uncontrollable if established in native species, the CDC says. It has issued instructions to doctors and vets on how to detect symptoms of monkeypox among patients and what measures to take when handling it. Vaccine loss Monkeypox is caused by a virus known as an orthopoxvirus and is from the same family of viruses as the more deadly smallpox. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports on its website that the most recent big outbreak occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. Protection against monkeypox was much greater when people were vaccinated against smallpox. But with the eradication of smallpox in 1980, vaccination also ended, the WHO notes. (Source: BBC, Monday, 9 June, 2003, 20:45 GMT 21:45 UK)