A truck hauling monkeys feared to be carrying hepatitis C,herpesand Covid-19 has overturned in Mississippi.
The vehicle was hauling 21 rhesus macaques from Tulane University inNew Orleansto aFlorida test site when it crashed on Interstate 59.
Each of the 18kg monkeys are ‘aggressive’ to humans.
Photographs from the scene show the truck slanted and half-collapsed in the grass at around the 117-mile mark, north of Heidelberg.
A monkey can be seen poking from between the mangled doors, perched on a wooden cage.
Sheriff Randy Johnson told local news outletWAPTthat six monkeys were on the loose, before sheriff’s later said that all but one of the escaped monkeys have been ‘destroyed’.
‘The monkey that got away actually crossed interstate, went out into a wooded area,’ added Johnson.
The authorities initially said in aFacebookpost that the monkeys posed ‘potentialhealththreats’.
‘The monkeys carry hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID. Tulane University has been notified and will send a team to pick up the monkeys tomorrow (the ones that are still caged),’ the department said.
A Facebook user asked the department if the post was a ‘joke’.
‘Unfortunately not,’ sheriffs replied.
Tulane University stressed that the primates are not carrying diseases.
Rhesus macaques are often used in experiments, being used as a proxy for humans when it comes to testing new vaccines and medications.
The university’s biomedical research centre provides scientists with monkeys ‘to advance scientific study’.
The university added: ‘The primates in question belong to another entity and are not infectious.
‘We are actively collaborating with local authorities and will send a team of animal care experts to assist as needed.’
Sheriffs have since said they were told by the driver of the truck ‘that the monkeys were dangerous and posed a threat to humans’.
‘We took the appropriate actions after being given that information from the person transporting the monkeys,’ they added.
‘He also stated that you had to wear PPE equipment to handle the monkeys.’
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