Hey, Hey We're the Monkees

This story is astonishing considering all that is going on right now.

According to a CDC spokesperson, the monkeys were en route to a CDC-approved quarantine facility after landing Friday morning in New York. They are originally from Mauritius, a country in eastern Africa.

The crash happened around 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon, that’s when the three monkeys got free in the Danville area.

Police say the driver who was transporting the monkeys was charged in the crash.

Originally, state police told us four monkeys were on the loose.

As of Saturday afternoon, some people were still worried.

“Little monkeys, we got bears, we have coyotes, we have deer, you know all the time. A little 3-pound monkey doesn’t scare me, but why are they so concerned about it is what concerns me,” said Howie Lerch, Valley Township.

Friday night Newswatch 16 spoke with Michelle Fallon of Danville, who saw the entire accident. She jumped into action; helping both drivers and the loads they were carrying.

“I walk up back on the hill and this guy tells me, ‘Oh, he’s hauling cats. I said, ‘oh.’ So I go over to look in the crate and there’s this green cloth over it. So I peel it back, I stick my finger in there and go ‘kitty, kitty.’ It pops its head up and it’s a monkey,” Fallon said.

Fallon was contacted Saturday by the CDC and was told to monitor herself for any cold-like symptoms.

A public health risk assessment was conducted by several organizations, including the CDC. They confirm the escaped monkeys were humanely euthanized.

It gets even more strange when you see the truck. It wasn't a tractor trailer, it's just a pickup truck with a trailer! It looks like it could be from a lawn service.

Isn't it a little odd to be transporting research monkeys, on their way to a quarantine facility -- in an unmarked truck driven by a private contractor? This is the CDC we're talking about here, they don't have their own people to move these animals around? If there was any concern as to any illnesses the monkeys might have, wouldn't the trailer need to be marked? In other words, if the CDC is moving around a potential biohazard, don't they have the responsibility to make sure that these animals are transported in the safest way possible?

The CDC isn't looking too good right now. The monkeys were going to a CDC-approved quarantine facility. The CDC approved moving potential biohazards in a standard trailer pulled by an unmarked truck. Their "approval" doesn't meet the highest standards.

A few days later, the woman that was in contact with the monkeys is now showing symptoms.

Danville, PA – Michelle Fallon is living a nightmare. And, she’s ready to put that nightmare on record.

The Danville woman is now experiencing symptoms, believed to be related to her close encounter with wild monkeys, when the trailer they were riding in collided with a dump truck and unloaded their cages all over Route 54, close to I-80, on Friday afternoon. (The monkeys were destined for an unidentified Centers for Disease Control lab, in the Midwest.)

The following day, Fallon developed a cough and something that resembled “pink-eye.” And, by Sunday, she was visiting the Geisinger Medical Center emergency room, where infectious disease doctors were consulted. Fallon has since received her first (of 4) preventative rabies shots; as well as a prescription for a 14-day course of Valacyclovir.

The stay-at-home mom, who shared that she was fully vaccinated and received her booster, was also tested for Covid, but the results at the ER were negative.

Then there's the issue with the driver.

The driver of the truck hauling the monkeys, identified in a press release from PA State Police, as Cody M. Brooks, 31, of Keystone Heights, FL even went so far as to put his hand in the camera of a local Press-Enterprise reporter. “He was very, very upset,” said Fallon. “He was in a panic.” Brooks passenger, Daniel G. Adkins, 59, of Florahome, FL required transport to Geisinger Medical Center for an injury.

Michelle Fallon is experiencing symptoms, and they have put her on antiviral drugs, they obviously think that she might have caught something.

There's no telling what's really going on here, but whatever it is, it has exposed a serious problem. The CDC is not competent enough to be performing these types of transports. That being the case, are they competent to be performing the experiments either?

The CDC is supposed to be the Gold Standard when it comes to to infectious diseases. The CDC is funded by the most wealthy country on the planet, and this is how they conduct business?

What do you think?

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