(CIDRAP News) – Federal health officials have tightened restrictions on trafficking in prairie dogs and African rodents to prevent the spread of monkeypox.
An outbreak of human monkeypox in the United States last May and June was traced to a shipment of imported African rodents. The disease apparently spread from the rodents to pet prairie dogs and on to people, leading to 37 confirmed, 12 probable, and 22 suspected human cases.