A search is under way in Mississippi for one rhesus monkey that escaped after a truck carrying laboratory animals crashed on a main interstate highway.
Several monkeys were freed after the vehicle was involved in an accident on Interstate 59 on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Jasper County Sheriff's Department.
The animals, reported to come from Tulane University in New Orleans, were said by the department to be infected with viruses including hepatitis C and Covid-19, posing a potential health risk to humans.
However, Tulane issued a statement saying the primates belong to another entity and are not infectious, while adding that a team of animal care experts would assist authorities as needed.
The sheriff's department had earlier described the monkeys as weighing roughly 40lbs and being aggressive towards humans, requiring protective equipment to handle. By late Tuesday, all but one had been 'destroyed', with efforts continuing to locate the remaining animal.
