Monkeypox FAQ

Q: Is it possible to contact MP from wild prairie-dogs?
A: No. MP doesn't exist in wild animals in America.

Q: Is it possible to contact MP from pet prairie-dogs?
A: Only if you bought them after April 15th.

Q: If I bought prairie-dogs after April 15th, what should I do?
A: Contact CDC.

Q: Can I just release my recently obtained prairie-dogs into the wild?
A: No. Doing so would make you guilty of an act of bioterrorism under US Patriot Act.

Q: Is MP lethal?
A: It can be, but the mortality rate is very low.

Q: If wild prairie-dogs never have MP, how come pet ones can have it?
A: It is believed that some animals got it from a giant Gambian rat (Cricetomys gambianus) while they were kept together in a facility trading in exotic pets.

Q: Does that mean that other exotic pets can be a source of MP?
A: Yes. Exotic animals can also be a source of rabies, tuberculosis, anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, tularemia, bubonic plague, SARS, SIV and other immunodeficit viruses, West Nile virus, Marburg fever, Ebola fever, Korean hemorrhagic fever, many kinds of encephalitis, and numerous other infections. There is also a considerable risk of contacting a disease yet unknown to science, and spreading it. It did happen in the past, it will happen again.

Q: Does that mean that exotic pet trade in dangerous?
A: Yes. By obtaining an exotic pet, you put yourself and your family in grave danger.

Q: If this trade is so dangerous, why is it legal?
A: Trade in exotic animals is a multi-billion dollar business, which resembles drug trafficking not only in its general practices, but also in profitability levels. It is not effectively controlled, and will probably never be eradicated.

Q: Is it a public safety concern?
A: Absolutely. Exotic pet trade is a much greater threat to national security than all existing terrorist organizations. It also devastates the global environment, by the way. Unless you want some new disease to be named after you or your hometown, do not buy exotic pets.

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