A Pennsylvania woman is ill after developing symptoms after she stopped to check on the drivers involved in the crash of a truck carrying monkeys from a lab.
Woman falls ill, developing symptoms after crash involving lab monkeys
According to multiple news reports, Michelle Fallon was driving directly behind the truck carrying 100 monkeys on their way to a CDC lab when the crash occurred, and she developed symptoms the day after stopping to see if those involved were OK.
The crates were reportedly not strapped down as they are supposed to be. As a result, when the truck crashed, the crates were scattered all over the highway, with some of them being smashed into pieces. Three monkeys escaped but were later euthanized.
Fallon wrote about her symptoms after the crash involving the lab monkeys in a Facebook post. The woman said she became ill after one of the macaque monkeys hissed at her. Fallon also said she had touched some of the crates, initially believing that they contained cats, and walked through some of the monkeys’ feces at the scene of the accident. She also had an open cut at the time.
The day after the accident, she developed pink eye and a cough and sought treatment from a local emergency room. Infectious disease doctors prescribed anti-viral medications and gave her one of the four recommended rabies shots. Doctors advised Fallon to watch for herpes symptoms as this type of monkey often carries the virus.
PETA responds
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has issued a statement about the incident and the euthanization of the escaped monkeys. It said that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. PETA wants the agency’s director of Animal Welfare Operations to investigate how the monkeys are treated and reports that the USDA has confirmed that it’s investigating.