7 ms·

Don't take this as me wanting it to happen, but what would it take for the decision to be made to kill these monkeys, and who would make it? Is there a state o

Don't take this as me wanting it to happen, but what would it take for the decision to be made to kill these monkeys, and who would make it? Is there a state or federal agency that's ever determined an animal to be a threat to people in an area to the degree that they then tried to wipe it out? Does it matter that the monkeys got put here because some company thought tourists would like them?

pm90 8y ago
Likely the CDC. Wonder why they haven't already acted on this.
psychoknot 8y ago
Unfortunately people caught on to what we were doing after Michael Brown, so probably not
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
zafka 8y ago
I would be more inclined to fund a vaccination program if possible.
- FreeFull 8y ago
  There is no herpes vaccine. It's hard to develop one, due to the way the virus evades the immune system.
  - yakshaving_jgt 8y ago
    There are a few promising technologies in the works though. The helicase-primase inhibitor Pritelivir is more effective than Acyclovir and related nucleoside analogues. It is also understood that the efficacy of both drugs accumulates. A few labs are working on CRISPR therapeutics for HSV, most notably Keith Jerome's work at Fred Hutch. Another company, Phylogica, are taking a different approach. I'm not exactly sure of the mechanism. https://phylogica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/181206_In-vivo-success-peptide-vaccine_1880059.pdf https://phylogica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/181206_In-v... n.b. If anyone here suffers from HSV (statistically, many of you do), consider ordering Pritelivir from Japan. It is marketed under the brand Amenalief, and it's for a different strain of HSV so you would be taking it off-label. Usual disclaimers apply; I'm neither a doctor, nor a lawyer, nor responsible for what you do.
    - 8f2ab37a-ed6c 8y ago
      I'd pay a pretty penny for a cure, or total suppression of transmission. It's not life altering in any way besides the fact that HSV2 has such a strong stigma in the US and tends to turn away a non insignificant number of romantic partners. From a health perspective, I had a rash once in my life and basically entirely forgot about even having it (outside of taking 800mg of Acyclovir every day), but from a social perspective, it adds a 50-70% chance that someone will turn you down. Dating is non-trivial already, adding another 2/3 dropoff to your dating life is no joke. On the plus side, it was nice to see a show like Adam Ruins Everything cover the issue to try to dispel some of the stigma, but I suspect that it will not be addressed within my lifetime. Additionally, in the state of California it's a well known way to shake down people of wealth. I always disclose my status before getting intimate, as required by law, but I also need to make sure that I have your consent somewhere in writing. Otherwise later you can claim that you were never told, you got the virus, and it's my fault, and now you're entitled to restitutions for the stress and damages to your lifestyle. It becomes a he said vs she said and practically a coin toss that decides if you are to part ways with anything between $100k to a few million. You always think "Is this person going to be the one who decides to use me to make a buck?". My legal counsel always advises that a new partner send me an email consenting to the risks she would be exposing herself to by engaging in intercourse. If that's not romance at its finest, I don't know what is.
      - newnewpdro 8y ago
        You're ignoring how life-altering it becomes as one ages and the immune system declines. I've had elderly relatives down with shingles, caused by the herpes virus, for months. Their shingles being a very latent reappearance of Chickenpox acquired in childhood. These viruses are opportunistic, and you will grow weaker in time, if you don't die first. The stigma, in this case, is appropriate in my opinion. It surprises me how cavalier everyone has been about HPV and Chickenpox throughout my lifetime. At least we've finally appreciated how HPV causes most cervical cancers and have developed routine immunization there. We badly need to develop Herpes vaccines. I'm confident once we have them, it will conveniently become "discovered" that HSV has been quietly responsible for some prolific form of suffering like Alzheimers and/or Parkinsons all this time.
honkycat 8y ago
IMO this is the most pragmatic solution. Why keep around an invasive species that carries a deadly virus?
- will_brown 8y ago
  Because the solution is typically implemented with a bounty program which is known to result in the intentional release of more of the invasive species to collect more rewards.
  - jessaustin 8y ago
    That scenario might have happened with e.g. "wild" hogs, but where are the fraudsters going to get a bunch of non-native monkeys? They aren't available at the local livestock auction...
    - jobigoud 8y ago
      Same. Capture a few and have them breed and collect the reward for the offsprings.
      - jessaustin 8y ago
        How many Floridians would hear about wild animals with horrible deadly diseases and think "I need to start breeding these in my basement"?
        theandrewbailey 8y ago
        A lot, actually. Florida has lots of old people, rednecks, and drug addicts.
        will_brown 8y ago
        Florida is the gateway to the America’s. It’s how all these invasive species got here in the first place. People breed alligators in their bathtubs, release giant pythons. Maybe they don’t need to breed the moneys but do things to support their population growth (kill predators if any, leave food, etc...) or they can breed monkey without the disease. The invasive monkeys did get here and released in the first place after all.
Nordo 8y ago
I certainly would want it to happen if I lived there. I like all sorts of wildlife, but introducing invasive species is not something to be taken lightly. Perhaps it's something for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to consider? They seem to be the one in charge of Burmese Python control in the Everglades.
userbinator 8y ago
The US has laws that essentially "unprotect" certain invasive species and encourage the hunting of them. Unfortunately, infected monkeys aren't really useful for anything.
will_brown 8y ago
>Is there a state or federal agency that's ever determined an animal to be a threat to people in an area to the degree that they then tried to wipe it out? In Florida alone that has happened with pythons in the everglades and lionfish in Florida oceans (at least south Florida). Edit: and African snails. And in a roundabout way mosquitos, but of the lot are not invasive to Florida.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

pm90 8y ago

Likely the CDC. Wonder why they haven't already acted on this.

psychoknot 8y ago

Unfortunately people caught on to what we were doing after Michael Brown, so probably not

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

zafka 8y ago

I would be more inclined to fund a vaccination program if possible.

FreeFull 8y ago
There is no herpes vaccine. It's hard to develop one, due to the way the virus evades the immune system.
- yakshaving_jgt 8y ago
  There are a few promising technologies in the works though. The helicase-primase inhibitor Pritelivir is more effective than Acyclovir and related nucleoside analogues. It is also understood that the efficacy of both drugs accumulates. A few labs are working on CRISPR therapeutics for HSV, most notably Keith Jerome's work at Fred Hutch. Another company, Phylogica, are taking a different approach. I'm not exactly sure of the mechanism. https://phylogica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/181206_In-vivo-success-peptide-vaccine_1880059.pdf https://phylogica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/181206_In-v... n.b. If anyone here suffers from HSV (statistically, many of you do), consider ordering Pritelivir from Japan. It is marketed under the brand Amenalief, and it's for a different strain of HSV so you would be taking it off-label. Usual disclaimers apply; I'm neither a doctor, nor a lawyer, nor responsible for what you do.
  - 8f2ab37a-ed6c 8y ago
    I'd pay a pretty penny for a cure, or total suppression of transmission. It's not life altering in any way besides the fact that HSV2 has such a strong stigma in the US and tends to turn away a non insignificant number of romantic partners. From a health perspective, I had a rash once in my life and basically entirely forgot about even having it (outside of taking 800mg of Acyclovir every day), but from a social perspective, it adds a 50-70% chance that someone will turn you down. Dating is non-trivial already, adding another 2/3 dropoff to your dating life is no joke. On the plus side, it was nice to see a show like Adam Ruins Everything cover the issue to try to dispel some of the stigma, but I suspect that it will not be addressed within my lifetime. Additionally, in the state of California it's a well known way to shake down people of wealth. I always disclose my status before getting intimate, as required by law, but I also need to make sure that I have your consent somewhere in writing. Otherwise later you can claim that you were never told, you got the virus, and it's my fault, and now you're entitled to restitutions for the stress and damages to your lifestyle. It becomes a he said vs she said and practically a coin toss that decides if you are to part ways with anything between $100k to a few million. You always think "Is this person going to be the one who decides to use me to make a buck?". My legal counsel always advises that a new partner send me an email consenting to the risks she would be exposing herself to by engaging in intercourse. If that's not romance at its finest, I don't know what is.
    - newnewpdro 8y ago
      You're ignoring how life-altering it becomes as one ages and the immune system declines. I've had elderly relatives down with shingles, caused by the herpes virus, for months. Their shingles being a very latent reappearance of Chickenpox acquired in childhood. These viruses are opportunistic, and you will grow weaker in time, if you don't die first. The stigma, in this case, is appropriate in my opinion. It surprises me how cavalier everyone has been about HPV and Chickenpox throughout my lifetime. At least we've finally appreciated how HPV causes most cervical cancers and have developed routine immunization there. We badly need to develop Herpes vaccines. I'm confident once we have them, it will conveniently become "discovered" that HSV has been quietly responsible for some prolific form of suffering like Alzheimers and/or Parkinsons all this time.

honkycat 8y ago

IMO this is the most pragmatic solution. Why keep around an invasive species that carries a deadly virus?

will_brown 8y ago
Because the solution is typically implemented with a bounty program which is known to result in the intentional release of more of the invasive species to collect more rewards.
- jessaustin 8y ago
  That scenario might have happened with e.g. "wild" hogs, but where are the fraudsters going to get a bunch of non-native monkeys? They aren't available at the local livestock auction...
  - jobigoud 8y ago
    Same. Capture a few and have them breed and collect the reward for the offsprings.
    - jessaustin 8y ago
      How many Floridians would hear about wild animals with horrible deadly diseases and think "I need to start breeding these in my basement"?
      - theandrewbailey 8y ago
        A lot, actually. Florida has lots of old people, rednecks, and drug addicts.
      - will_brown 8y ago
        Florida is the gateway to the America’s. It’s how all these invasive species got here in the first place. People breed alligators in their bathtubs, release giant pythons. Maybe they don’t need to breed the moneys but do things to support their population growth (kill predators if any, leave food, etc...) or they can breed monkey without the disease. The invasive monkeys did get here and released in the first place after all.

Nordo 8y ago

I certainly would want it to happen if I lived there. I like all sorts of wildlife, but introducing invasive species is not something to be taken lightly. Perhaps it's something for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to consider? They seem to be the one in charge of Burmese Python control in the Everglades.

userbinator 8y ago

The US has laws that essentially "unprotect" certain invasive species and encourage the hunting of them. Unfortunately, infected monkeys aren't really useful for anything.

will_brown 8y ago

>Is there a state or federal agency that's ever determined an animal to be a threat to people in an area to the degree that they then tried to wipe it out? In Florida alone that has happened with pythons in the everglades and lionfish in Florida oceans (at least south Florida). Edit: and African snails. And in a roundabout way mosquitos, but of the lot are not invasive to Florida.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]