Bad Guy RodentPro- Zoonotic disease warning

[cmalchow]

That is exactly what I got by email, I suspect only people who directly contacted RP got the emails directly.

It doesn't say very much.

Maurice Pudlo

That is a very good point. I have ordered from them a number of times and I never got anything. Although, I have not contacted them over this incident either.

 

[rcarichter]

So, who's the mystery supplier, and who else have they sold rodents to?


Noelle

 

[Raverthug]

ya know I hate to back RP on this one but I can understand why they havent released the names of who they sold to. they are keeping their customers confidential and I can respect that. Its not RPs job to release the names but those customers job to notify their customers.

 

[rosebud945]

ya know I hate to back RP on this one but I can understand why they havent released the names of who they sold to. they are keeping their customers confidential and I can respect that. Its not RPs job to release the names but those customers job to notify their customers.

But they didn't until they were forced to.

 

[Scottico]

But they didn't until they were forced to.

I think we need to be careful before making this kind of accusation. I'm not sure if any of us knows *exactly* what happened, what the CDC told RP, or how well RP itself understood the virus so as to be calling clients themselves.

For all we know, the CDC may have advised RP to stay quiet and let them (the CDC) handle it so that panic wouldn't ensue. Could you imagine RP trying to handle all the questions, accusations, and yes, conspiracy theories, thrown back in its face?

Again, I have no vested interest in RP and don't know a single person who works for the company.

 

[Wilomn]

I think we need to be careful before making this kind of accusation. I'm not sure if any of us knows *exactly* what happened, what the CDC told RP, or how well RP itself understood the virus so as to be calling clients themselves.

For all we know, the CDC may have advised RP to stay quiet and let them (the CDC) handle it so that panic wouldn't ensue. Could you imagine RP trying to handle all the questions, accusations, and yes, conspiracy theories, thrown back in its face?

Again, I have no vested interest in RP and don't know a single person who works for the company.

For all we know the CDC advised them to call all possible customers.

It goes both ways and right now, they're, RP, not looking good at all.

 

[Scottico]

For all we know the CDC advised them to call all possible customers.

It goes both ways and right now, they're, RP, not looking good at all.

You're right. We should assume the worst and bloviate about it for another week on BOI.

 

[Wilomn]

You're right. We should assume the worst and bloviate about it for another week on BOI.

Who's this 'we' you so blithely speak for? I'm quite capable of thinking for myself.

If you're so against the conversation taking place here, I hear the hiking is great this time of year. Feel free to take one.

 

[Raverthug]

But they didn't until they were forced to.

Your right, If you look at my past post's you will see Im in no way standing up for them. They dropped the ball when it comes to how they handled this. I'm just saying I can respect keeping their customers names confidential.

I think we need to be careful before making this kind of accusation. I'm not sure if any of us knows *exactly* what happened, what the CDC told RP, or how well RP itself understood the virus so as to be calling clients themselves.

For all we know, the CDC may have advised RP to stay quiet and let them (the CDC) handle it so that panic wouldn't ensue. Could you imagine RP trying to handle all the questions, accusations, and yes, conspiracy theories, thrown back in its face?

Again, I have no vested interest in RP and don't know a single person who works for the company.

They may have been told that but now its out in the open. The fact of the matter is that RP is tryng to save their *** right now and only notified people when it started a backlash against them. We would love to hear RP;s side of this but the fact is they havent come on here or tried to give any explanations outside of the letters sent out (after the backlash) and the 1 press release on KS. If they were really concerned about their customers they would be on here answering questions instead of clamming up.

 

[Tim Cole]

Your right, If you look at my past post's you will see Im in no way standing up for them. They dropped the ball when it comes to how they handled this. I'm just saying I can respect keeping their customers names confidential.
They may have been told that but now its out in the open. The fact of the matter is that RP is tryng to save their *** right now and only notified people when it started a backlash against them. We would love to hear RP;s side of this but the fact is they havent come on here or tried to give any explanations outside of the letters sent out (after the backlash) and the 1 press release on KS. If they were really concerned about their customers they would be on here answering questions instead of clamming up.

It wouldn't surprise me if they are just following advice from an attorney?

 

[rosebud945]

I think we need to be careful before making this kind of accusation. I'm not sure if any of us knows *exactly* what happened, what the CDC told RP, or how well RP itself understood the virus so as to be calling clients themselves.

For all we know, the CDC may have advised RP to stay quiet and let them (the CDC) handle it so that panic wouldn't ensue. Could you imagine RP trying to handle all the questions, accusations, and yes, conspiracy theories, thrown back in its face?

Again, I have no vested interest in RP and don't know a single person who works for the company.

Um, yeah, this could be true, but it is now after the fact and RP still hasn't answered the questions that people have about the way they handled this situation. Neither of their public statements suggest that they were asked to keep silent by the cdc. Many people, including the OP, have made the comment that their silence did far more damage to their rep than the virus would have had they been up front about what was going on.

As for not knowing much about the virus, it is easy to google.

 

[Raverthug]

Your right and it would have been TO EASY to put a line in the statement that they were asked to keep silent or let the CDC handle it.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

Yeah I'm sure the CDC is telling companies to keep infectious disease outbreaks secret for months, unless of course there is a BOI thread, in that case the CDC wants those companies to put out a minimally informative letter as damage control.

I totally buy it.

Maurice Pudlo

 

[Lucille]

It wouldn't surprise me if they are just following advice from an attorney?

If so, it was their choice to follow the advice. They had the choice also to disclose.
I suspect any choices made by them are for their health and not ours.

 

[jumpsnake]

Is there a different press release somewhere other than the one originally posted here, in the FarmWorld site? The only thing I see on KS is the letter, which I also got in the mail.

Thanks.

 

[Willis Wildlife Enterprises]

What are the symptoms of LCM?

Some people infected with LCMV do not become ill. For infected persons who do become ill, onset of symptoms usually occurs 8-13 days after being exposed to the virus. A characteristic biphasic febrile illness then follows. The initial phase, which may last as long as a week, typically begins with any or all of the following symptoms: fever, malaise, lack of appetite, muscle aches, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Other symptoms that appear less frequently include sore throat, cough, joint pain, chest pain, testicular pain, and parotid (salivary gland) pain. Following a few days of recovery, the second phase of the disease occurs, consisting of symptoms of meningitis (for example, fever, headache, and a stiff neck) or characteristics of encephalitis (for example, drowsiness, confusion, sensory disturbances, and/or motor abnormalities, such as paralysis). LCMV has also been known to cause acute hydrocephalus (increased fluid on the brain), which often requires surgical shunting to relieve increased intracranial pressure. In rare instances, infection results in myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord) and presents with symptoms such as muscle weakness, paralysis, or changes in body sensation. An association between LCMV infection and myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscles) has been suggested.

During the first phase of the disease, the most common laboratory abnormalities are a low white blood cell count (leukopenia) and a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia). Liver enzymes in the serum may also be mildly elevated. After the onset of neurological disease during the second phase, an increase in protein levels, an increase in the number of white blood cells or a decrease in the glucose levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is usually found.

To avoid mass hysteria and the flooding of our medical facilities with anyone that shows just one of the highlighted symptoms, yes, I could most definitely see the CDC &/or Homeland Security telling RodentPro to not make any public announcements or contact every one of their customers. It has taken several months for it to leak out, during that time, the CDC has been able to contact all those with an honest potential to be infected and to clean up and contain the outbreak to the best of it's ability.

This is not that serious of a disease when you compare it to the many other contagious &/or zoonotic diseases out there. I'm a certified veterinary technician and believe me, I have the potential to come in contact with more terrifying zoonotic diseases than LMCV. My husband is a graveyard shift security guard at one of our local human hospitals and the absolute horrors that he has had to come in contact with is beyond belief. He had to take the steps himself to wear protective gloves, etc before doing certain aspects of his job. Neither his employer nor the hospital told him of the potential hazards nor provided him with any form of protection.

If the State of Florida will cover up a serious outbreak of tuberculosis, a cover up of an LMCV outbreak is nothing.

I purchase from RodentPro. My last purchase of pinkies was sent out on May 28, 2012. I have been using those pinkies and will continue to use them, and I will continue to use RodentPro, despite the miniscule threat of LMCV and all the hoopla in this thread.

I have my own rodent colony as well as wild mice and rats on the property. My immune system has been challenged it's entire life and I think it is more than capable of handling one little mild mouse virus. I haven't needed to take any time off from work due to illness in over 20 years. My more germophobic co-workers with their Lysol and Clorox wipes, their exam gloves and masks, and other precautions can't say the same thing. In fact, all but one of them use up more than their allotted 14 days of sick time each year as well as come in and work sick just as many days. That other co-worker has always treated germs as I do, take precautions, but also expose your immune system to the challenges of everyday living.

The immune-challenged are at risk each and every day from diseases and should be taking precautions at all times, not just because a supplier of rodents have had an outbreak of a naturally-occurring virus which could potentially be found in any or all of the rodents that person has ever come in contact with.

 

[Willow]

So I have a question then.

I get that we shouldn't panic lol

but should the people who have now had to deal with financial loss over this situation just keep quiet? Does Rodent Pro plan to take any responsibility to those people for those losses? Or do they just want to sweep this under the rug and ignore that they COULD have done something to have helped those people catch this situation long before it ruined their entire colony and possibly the wild rodents in their town?

 

[Lucille]

If the State of Florida will cover up a serious outbreak of tuberculosis, a cover up of an LMCV outbreak is nothing.

Because one thing happened, that means something else is OK? I don't agree with that concept at all.

losses

There are many local attorneys who offer free consults. You need not use their services if the consult is free, but it may be worth going and listening to what they have to say if you have incurred losses.

 

[rcarichter]

If any of us were panickers, or germaphobes, we wouldn't be cleaning up reptile poop every day. We'd for sure all have salmonella, lol. I think people feel deceived by a trusted company. Most of would like to think that if it were us, we would immediately contact everyone involved (not just those on paper), as well as make a public announcement, just out of decency, not because of a precedent set by someone else.

Noelle

 

[Willow]

Update from us here at KY Reptile Zoo:
Yesterday I received a call back from the state. I talked to the state vet, Dr. Poe, as well.
It seems that we did receive diseased rodents. I had some in several shipments in the spring where the mice were very small, hunchbacked, and would not drink on their own. I had thought maybe they were weaned too early, but Dr. Poe confirmed that those are symptoms of the disease in mice.
Today I am depopulating our rodent colony. I do not see any sick animals, but the fact that some of our breeder rats were in the same building as the sick mice means that transmission was possible. I have to euthanize roughly 200 rodents today, sterilize all the cages, bleach the bedding before discarding it, and bleach and scrub out the building. Obviously this is not something I can delegate to any employees.
I was told in the phone conversation with the state that the original sick rodents did come from an outside source in Western KY. There were sick people in Southern IN. The first sick people were in FEBRUARY. I am not sure how quickly things were figured out, but this contradicts the May timeline to some degree.
If RP had contacted us in MAY, several things would be different now:
1. If this had been handled responsibly, I very likely would have believed that there were only 14 people affected and would not have made a BOI post about it.
2. I would not have increased my rodent colony to try and make up for RP's shortfall BEFORE getting rid of any diseased animals. I could have started over then, instead of now when my colony is just starting to take off.
3. I would not have unknowingly exposed employees to a potentially dangerous disease.
4. Discarded bedding in our compost pile would have been sterilized from the beginning-- now we have possibly exposed our wild rodents here.

MAKE NO MISTAKE- RODENT PRO COMPLETELY FAILED IN THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO THEIR CUSTOMERS. If there were only 14 people affected, how hard is it to make 14 phone calls????

I also maintain that their 'Official statement' only occurred because I started this thread. I doubt they would have made any statement if they were not called out on the situation.

Panic or no panic, this right here should be enough to say they did NOT handle themselves appropriately towards their customer base. At least one person is now being forced to suffer a huge loss, that COULD have been avoided if they had been properly informed. I won't be shocked when more people have to do this, if more people already haven't.