Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
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Tuesday, April 23
Monkey to Gambian Rat to Prairie Dog to Human: that's the apparent chain of animals leading to the first outbreak of monkey pox in North America that came to light over the weekend. Several people in Wisconsin and a couple here in Illinois have come down with the West African virus, picked up from their infected prairie dog pets.