(The Epoch Times)—An aggressive monkey infected with COVID-19 and other diseases was on the loose in Jasper County, Mississippi, on Tuesday after a semi-truck carrying 21 primates overturned while transporting them from Tulane University to an out-of-state testing facility.
All 20 of the other infected rhesus monkeys were destroyed after the accident, according to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Department.
“We are continuing to look for the one monkey that is still on the loose,” the sheriff’s department reported on Facebook. “We have been in contact with an animal disposal company to help handle the situation.”
The monkeys weighed about 40 pounds each. They also carried hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID, but are not infectious, according to authorities.
The accident occurred at about 2 p.m. local time on Interstate 59 near mile marker 117, about 86 miles east of Jackson, Mississippi, near Heidelberg. The truck was headed to Florida, according to officials.
The sheriff’s department warned residents living around the area of the accident to not approach the monkeys.
“They do pose potential health threats and are aggressive,” the department posted.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks was on site with local law enforcement.
Tulane University was notified by authorities.
The university released a statement Tuesday night, saying the monkeys were not infectious.
“Non-human primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery,” Tulane University said in a statement. “The primates in question belong to another entity and are not infectious.”
The sheriff’s office said the truck driver told authorities the monkeys were dangerous and posed a threat to humans.
“We took the appropriate actions after being given that information from the person transporting the monkeys,” the sheriff’s office said Tuesday night. “He also stated that you had to wear [personal protective equipment] to handle the monkeys.”
In 2020, the university received an anonymous $1 million gift to establish a fund for emerging research in infectious diseases. The money was meant to be used to support the institution’s research and provide immediate impact in the race to find a vaccine for COVID, according to the university’s school of medicine.
This is the second time research monkeys have escaped in the past year in the United States.
Late January saw the recapture of 43 monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina research facility. Residents were warned to secure their doors and windows until the monkeys were captured.
The animals broke loose from Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, South Carolina. The last of them was recovered in January after living in the woods for two months. Rescuers tempted them back into captivity with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, according to authorities.
The research facility—known locally as “the monkey farm”—breeds monkeys for medical research.
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