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Wis. Family Quarantined for Monkeypox
By ROBERT IMRIE
Associated Press Writer
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- When a young 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 suffering a bout with suspected monkeypox linked to the burrowing rodents.
"They said we can't leave until the scabs fall off the sores," said Kautzer, 28, of nearby Dorchester in central Wisconsin. "I only have a few more scabs to fall off. My daughter's are gone."
Health officials were working to contain the spread of the monkeypox virus, which is related to smallpox and apparently never before found in the Western Hemisphere.
The disease in humans is not usually fatal but causes rashes, fevers, chills and sores.
In all, 33 cases of monkeypox are either suspected or have been confirmed in three Midwest states. In Wisconsin, 16 cases are suspected and three were confirmed; health officials have not identified who the confirmed cases are.
Thirteen cases are suspected in Indiana. And in Illinois, there are four suspected and one confirmed case.
Investigators say a shipment of prairie dogs likely was infected with the virus by a giant Gambian rat, which is indigenous to Africa, at a Chicago-area pet distributor, Phil's Pocket Pets. Federal and state health officials were trying to track down 115 customers - both individuals and pet stores - that bought animals since April 15 from the business.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MONKEYPOX?SITE=FLROC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
By ROBERT IMRIE
Associated Press Writer
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) -- When a young 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 suffering a bout with suspected monkeypox linked to the burrowing rodents.
"They said we can't leave until the scabs fall off the sores," said Kautzer, 28, of nearby Dorchester in central Wisconsin. "I only have a few more scabs to fall off. My daughter's are gone."
Health officials were working to contain the spread of the monkeypox virus, which is related to smallpox and apparently never before found in the Western Hemisphere.
The disease in humans is not usually fatal but causes rashes, fevers, chills and sores.
In all, 33 cases of monkeypox are either suspected or have been confirmed in three Midwest states. In Wisconsin, 16 cases are suspected and three were confirmed; health officials have not identified who the confirmed cases are.
Thirteen cases are suspected in Indiana. And in Illinois, there are four suspected and one confirmed case.
Investigators say a shipment of prairie dogs likely was infected with the virus by a giant Gambian rat, which is indigenous to Africa, at a Chicago-area pet distributor, Phil's Pocket Pets. Federal and state health officials were trying to track down 115 customers - both individuals and pet stores - that bought animals since April 15 from the business.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MONKEYPOX?SITE=FLROC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
