There are wild monkeys in Florida - and up to 30% of them have a herpes strain that can be fatal to humans.steemCreated with Sketch.

in news •  7 years ago 

As if the stories that come out of Florida are not crazy enough - here is an interesting fact I didn't know: There are feral monkeys in Florida.

Monkey.jpg
Photo From: MonkeyHaven.org

Around the spring of 1938, a family of 5 monkeys was released on an island around Silver Springs, Florida by a tour boat operator to enhance his local attraction, the "Jungle Cruise".

Fast-forward to today and there an estimated 200 free-ranging rhesus monkeys inhabiting the Silver Springs area and, according to the CDC up to 30% of them carry "macacine herpesvirus 1" (a.k.a. Herpes B). Although roughly half the people infected with the Herpes B virus have died, the total cases world-wide doesn't exceed 60 and no one outside of laboratory research has died from being infected.

There, That is something you know now.

Sources:
-Gizmodo - "Avoid Monkeys in Florida Because They Could Give You Killer Herpes"
-CDC - Macacine Herpesvirus 1 Antibody Prevalence and DNA Shedding among Invasive Rhesus Macaques, Silver Springs State Park, Florida, USA

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Damn monkeys.

I never even knew Florida had monkeys. I'm thinking about writing another article about feral monkeys in the United States - there is a crazy story I learned while researching for this article!

I wish there were monkeys in my area. We have wild turkey and some areas near me have feral chickens. I blame hipsters for the feral chickens.

Hahaha. Where are you at?

Interesting post, good info. Keep up the good work

Thanks Mark!