"According to a statement posted to Facebook, the local Jasper County Sheriff's Office initially claimed the Rhesus monkeys were infected with a range of horrendous diseases - including hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID-19 - and were "aggressive." All but one of the escaped animals have been euthanized, the police said, and the university was due to recover the ones still in cages."
"Tulane University spokesperson Michael Strecker told New Orleans-based outlet NOLA that the "primates in question belong to another entity and are not infectious," suggesting that the sheriff's office had received bad intel. "Non-human primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery," he said. In a statement to Futurism, a Tulane University spokesperson clarified that the "monkeys did not carry any infectious disease and had not been exposed to any infectious agent.""
A truck transporting rhesus research monkeys crashed on an interstate in eastern Mississippi after leaving Tulane University, and several animals escaped. Local law enforcement initially claimed the monkeys were infected with diseases including hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID-19 and described them as aggressive; most escaped animals were euthanized and authorities sought recovery of those still in cages. Tulane representatives said the primates belonged to another entity and were not infectious, and that animal care experts would assist local authorities. The monkeys weighed around 40 pounds and required personal protective equipment to handle. A previous mass escape occurred in November 2024 in South Carolina.
Read at Futurism
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