Well, it turns out people are still smuggling bushmeat—you know, tropical wild game like MONKEYS and BATS—into the country through JFK, and guess what? It's still dangerous to eat! Because it can spread diseases! And even if they're not deadly right now, they might be soon! Because it's happened before, with bushmeat and AIDS! Everybody freak out!
This potentially terrifying news comes courtesy of a new study called "Zoonotic Viruses Associated with Illegally Imported Wildlife Products," which tested animal parts—from baboons, chimpanzees, rats and more—confiscated by customs officials at JFK. Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Museum of Natural History found evidence of simian foamy viruses and two types of herpes viruses in the parts, which, while not dangerous to humans on their own, show the potential to evolve into the next global pandemic. “Diseases such as HIV, Ebola, swine flu, avian flu and monkey pox all originated in wildlife," WCS researcher Dr. Denise McAloose said. "We don't know where the next disease like that might occur."
And, just to freak you out further, the study notes that 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases affecting people originate from contact with wildlife. So stop eating monkeys and maybe leave the squirrels and giant rats alone, okay?
