Hardly anyone remembers, but almost 20 years ago the United States struggled with monkey pox. However, they coped with the disease quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, one of the steps in the fight against the disease was the need to put down the animals that infected humans.
In 2003, monkey pox was first detected in humans in the USA. The disease, which is extremely rare and usually occurs in Central and West Africa, was then infected by a total of several dozen people from various states. It is worth knowing that monkey pox is a zoonotic disease. Its name itself, however, can be a bit misleading as it is transmitted mainly by small mammals such as squirrels and rats. In 2003, the USA dealt with the infectious disease quickly and efficiently. How?
How did the US deal with monkey pox in 2003? The vaccine helped
In July 2003, 71 cases were reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monkey poxwith several different states.
«Most of the patients were exposed to prairie dogs. Some of them stayed in rooms where animals were kept, while others had contact with already sick people » — resembles the Business Insider.
All human monkey pox cases have been associated with prairie dogs. These in turn probably got infected through contact with wild animals that were brought to the USA. More specifically, it is about Gambian large rats and dormice that came from Ghana (West Africa).
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All patients were subject to compulsory quarantine. Some of the animals were put to sleep. Additionally, the importation of rodents such as prairie dogs was banned.
Another, extremely important, and practically the most important step in the fight against a monkey person in the US there was use of the smallpox vaccine. This prevented the disease from spreading further. Smallpox is more severe than ape, but both have similar symptoms.