Indiana Investigating 10 Cases of Poxlike Illness

June 9, 2003

Indiana health officials said Sunday they are investigating 10 cases of a poxlike illness believed to be a virus that has been cropping up across the Midwest for the past month.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has confirmed the illness is a strain of monkeypox, said Dr. Robert Teclaw, the state's epidemiologist and a veterinarian with the Indiana State Department of Health. The viral illness, which is transmitted from prairie dogs and is seldom fatal, has never been seen in North America.

"The only question is what strain it is," Teclaw said.

Since early May, Wisconsin has four confirmed cases of the virus and 14 other suspected cases, while Illinois has three suspected instances.

The human death rate in Africa has ranged from 1 percent to 10 percent, but Milwaukee Health Commissioner Dr. Seth Foldy said the virus may be less lethal in the United States because people are better nourished and medical technology is more advanced.

Indiana health investigators are still trying to contact 32 other Hoosiers who have purchased prairie dogs and small Gambian rats from Phil's Pocket Pets in Villa Park, Ill., since April 15. It was there that the prairie dogs may have been infected by a Gambian rat -- a rodent indigenous to African countries.

Doctors at first feared they might be facing smallpox, Foldy said. But doctors and scientists quickly eliminated that possibility after discovering the people-prairie dog link.

Indiana health officials would not identify this state's patients. The illness causes a pox, or rash, to form on the skin. People who become sick have reported fever, chills, muscle aches, coughs and swollen glands.

Teclaw said those who have had contact with sickened animals and show those symptoms should seek medical treatment and isolate themselves. They should wash their hands frequently and avoid sharing beds with loved ones.

He said the risk of human-to-human transmission from the illness is low but urged caution.

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