Monkeys Reportedly Carrying Herpes & Covid Escape After Truck Overturns Mississippi

According to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, the transport vehicle was carrying rhesus macaques weighing about 40 pounds each from Tulane University’s biomedical research facility to a testing center in Florida. When the truck flipped, several wooden crates labeled “LIVE ANIMALS” burst open, allowing multiple monkeys to escape into the nearby woods.

After the crash, sheriff’s deputies and responding agencies issued a public alert warning that the monkeys may carry multiple dangerous pathogens — including herpes B virus, Hepatitis C, and COVID-19.

Authorities urged residents not to approach any escaped primates and to immediately dial 911 if spotted. Responders at the scene reportedly used PPE while handling the animals due to their infectious risk.

However, Tulane University pushed back in a statement, claiming that the animals “belong to another entity and are not infectious.” That conflicting messaging has fueled growing concerns among local residents and public health watchers.

Six of them escaped after the crash and all but one of the escaped monkeys were later euthanized.

The last monkey remains on the loose as of Tuesday night.

 Officials are working with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks and animal disposal services.

PETA sent us a statement regarding the incident below:

“Terrified monkeys running for their lives into unprotected, populated areas is exactly the spark that could ignite the next pandemic. Monkeys can carry diseases transmissible to humans, including tuberculosis, and Tulane National Primate Research Center, where these monkeys were trucked from, has had disease outbreaks of pathogens deadly to humans in its monkey colony. This is the risk the greedy monkey experimentation industry has chosen for the public, so they can line their pockets while these sensitive monkeys crisscross American highways in unmarked trucks. It’s also a tragedy for the monkeys, whose only moments of freedom before death were the result of a truck crash. The importation and use of monkeys in laboratory experiments is emptying the world’s forests while putting Americans at great risk, and it must end now.”

The public is being reminded: “Do not try to catch or approach any of the monkeys.”