June 10, 2003
By Diedtra Henderson, Denver Post Science Writer
If monkeypox reaches wild prairie dogs,like these in Highlands Ranch, 'the consequences could be dire,' says David Crawford of Rocky Mountain Animal Defense.
The number of people sickened by monkeypox nearly doubled over the weekend with investigators tracking 37 suspected and confirmed cases in Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois.
Four cases have been confirmed. Seven people have been hospitalized. No one has died.
All victims came in close contact to - or were bitten by - tainted pet prairie dogs or a pet rabbit housed near a sick prairie dog.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's largest worry: A panicked prairie dog owner releases a sick rodent into the wild, where it could infect other prairie dogs. In Colorado alone, three different species carve colonies across 2 million acres with estimated prairie dog populations that swell to 70 million, depending on the season.
The agency first learned on Wednesday that an orthopox virus was implicated in the growing number of rodent and human illnesses in the Midwest. By Saturday, they confirmed the culprit was the monkeypox virus, carried by a rat native to Africa that sickened and killed prairie dogs housed nearby in the same pet shop. Prairie dog owners, veterinarians and pet shop owners - making the connection between the diseased rodents and their own fevers and rashes - contacted public health officials.
There's no way to tell how long it will take to contain a disease related to, but less fatal than, smallpox. Investigators are tracing the movements of sick pets purchased from a Chicago-area store and are poring through the records of a maverick dealer who specialized in exotic pets, including the Gambian giant rat. It may be impossible to track the origin and destination of the pets that were bought and sold at swap meets.
Steve Ostroff, deputy director of the CDC's National Center for Infectious Diseases, said it's also too early to tell how easily monkeypox can hop to other domestic pets, such as dogs and cats.
State health officials have reported 16 suspected cases in Wisconsin, 13 in Indiana and four in Illinois. Four cases have been confirmed in Wisconsin and Illinois.
CDC experts say the number of monkeypox cases among humans will surely rise. In Africa, monkeypox was able to spread from person to person. Ostroff said it wasn't clear whether the virus would behave similarly in the United States.
The emergence of yet another tropical infectious disease in America comes as SARS cases wane and just as West Nile season begins anew. The first monkeypox cases in the Western hemisphere, however, shed a spotlight on a uniquely American passion: keeping prairie dogs as pets.
In Colorado, state law forbids people from owning prairie dogs as pets, said John Pape, a Colorado Department of Public Health epidemiologist.
No Colorado resident has called to report owning a sick prairie dog. Pape couldn't say whether having to confess to possessing an illegal pet would dissuade such phone calls.
"I suppose it depends on whether they're more worried about the pet being illegal or their kids contracting monkeypox," he said.
Unfazed by prairie dogs' ability to carry bubonic plague and tularemia, more people are collecting the fat-hipped burrowing rodent as a charismatic pet in the 36 states where it's legal. Last year, in Texas alone, about 20,000 were rustled from their subterranean colonies and shipped as pets. Fans pay from $50 to $200 to own a prairie dog.
That's just for starters. Tricia Vanderpool, of Tulsa, Okla., owns a dozen prairie dogs and has spent thousands of dollars on cages, veggie dog food for feed, Prairie Delight and almonds for treats, and surgery to remove tumors.
Pebbles, Sugar Bear, Pedee, Skippee, Percy, Squirt, Vera and the rest of the colony burrow through shredded paper, sprint inside 15-inch diameter wheels, play in sandboxes and make a "happy noise" that Vanderpool says sounds like "Yahoo!" when she enters their rooms.
"They want me to pet them. They want to be held. They're really cool," Vanderpool said. "They potty train themselves. They don't leave little poops everywhere like a bunny."
Prairie dog protectors worry that monkeypox - like tularemia and plague scares - will again tarnish the rodent's reputation.
"They've often had a bad rap as disease-carrying vermin. We're trying to change people's attitudes," said Becky Deck of the Denver-area Prairie Dog Specialists. The nonprofit pumps soap foam into tunnels to gently relocate prairie dog towns that stretch for acres.
Already, David Crawford, executive director of Boulder-based Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, has received poisonous e-mails for his defense of prairie dogs as victims, not perpetrators of monkeypox.
"You folks are trying to perpetuate a flea- and disease-infested rodent that is not only dangerous to other species, but now has spread disease to humans," one e-mailer wrote Monday. "What a beautiful thing to try to raise money with. You folks should be ashamed."
The e-mail's author did not reply to an interview request.
"If this disease - which has just jumped an ocean - jumps from captive population into the wild population, the consequences could be dire," Crawford said. "All someone has to do is have a diseased prairie dog, take that animal out and dump him on a colony in South Dakota. Bam. We've crossed that bridge. It doesn't bode well for prairie dogs."
What's known about monkeypox
Monkeypox, a rare viral illness related to smallpox, has infected humans in the Western Hemisphere for the first time.
How are humans exposed?
All had close contact - or were bitten by - ill prairie dogs, a Gambian giant rat or a rabbit housed in a veterinary clinic with a sick prairie dog.
Who was infected?
Thirty-three Midwest veterinary clinic workers, pet shop owners and members of households that recently purchased ill prairie dogs were the first to report symptoms.
If monkeypox can spread to rabbits, how safe is my pet dog?
Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say it's too early to say.
If I'm infected, when will I feel symptoms?
It takes about 12 days after exposure to develop a fever, rash and respiratory distress.
What's the risk of dying from monkeypox?
In Africa, 1 percent to 10 percent of infected people died, depending on the region.
What happens to animals?
Ill animals developed fever, cough and a rash. Some recovered. Some died.
What do I do with a sick prairie dog pet?
Using a mask and gloves, isolate the rodent from humans and from other animals. Contact the health department. Warn your vet of the animal's symptoms so they can wear protective gear. Bag the animal's bedding so the clinic can dispose of it as medical waste. Clean and sanitize tainted household surfaces.
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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