Bugs on a Plane
of thousands of other animals, including tigers, monkeys, and exotic
food animals, were illegally smuggled into the United States in private
planes and boats during that time.
Whether legal or illegal, any of those animals may carry a new
disease or a disease never before seen in the United States. That
happened when a shipment of African rodents, including large rodents
known as Gambian rats, brought monkeypox to the United States in
2003. On Mother’s Day of that year, Tammy Kautzer took her three-
year-old daughter Schyan to a swap meet in Wausau, Wisconsin. A pet
dealer there sold two young prairie dogs to Kautzer.
Two days later, Kautzer thought one of the prairie dogs seemed like
it had a cold. Kautzer took the prairie dog to the vet. The vet diagnosed
a swollen lymph node and prescribed antibiotics. The animal’s viruses
infected several people at the vet’s office that day.
Left to right:
Schyan, Steve, and Tammy Kautzer were quarantined at their home
after contracting monkeypox. Tammy holds Chuckles, the prairie dog that survived
the infection. The family decided to keep Chuckles as they believed they were
immune from contracting monkeypox again.
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