Is the monkey loose in Mississippi after the truck crash infectious? Conflicting reports from Jasper County sheriff and Tulane University explored

On Tuesday, October 28, a truck carrying multiple monkeys was overturned on a Mississippi highway, leading to most of them escaping the vehicle. 

Soon after the accident, the Jasper County Sheriff Department issued a statement, warning that the monkeys were "aggressive to humans" and potentially carried multiple infections like COVID, hepatitis C, and herpes. 

🚨 **BREAKING: MONKEY MAYHEM UNLEASHED!** Truck packed with "hostile" monkeys infected with HERPES & COVID CRASHES in Mississippi—

Now they've ESCAPING into the wild! 🐒😱 Biohazard alert as search intensifies. Apocalypse vibes or overblown? Spill your take below! 👇… pic.twitter.com/O2qBKcYXQd

— SOCIETAL MEDIA (@SOCIETAL_MEDIA) October 28, 2025

Per AP News, officers later revealed that he had learned the information by the truck driver as they responded to the accident.

The driver had also warned them to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) while handling the monkeys.

All of the escaped monkeys were killed, except for one, that is still loose in Mississippi (at the time of writing this article). 

However, some hours later, as Tulane University learned about the accident, it issued a statement clarifying that none of the animals in the truck were infected.

The statement - sent via email on Tuesday - reads:

"Non-human primates at the Tulane National Biomedical Research Center are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery. The primates in question belong to another entity, and they have not been exposed to any infectious agent."

Mike Strecker - the assistant vice president of media relations at the University - also got in touch with Clarion Ledger to confirm the same. 

In conclusion, despite the officials' initial warning, the monkey loose in Mississippi is not carrying any infection. 

The truck accident took place on Interstate 59, near mile marker 117 north of Heidelberg. It was carrying Rhesus monkeys - the most medically studied animals on Earth.

Weighing nearly 16 pounds, these monkeys were housed at the New Orleans at the Tulane University before being transported.

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The loose Rhesus monkey "could ignite the next pandemic," says PETA 

I know these rhesus monkeys were infected, or they wouldn't have shot them: they'd simply be rounded up, as these are expensive animals. If they reported one missing, it's almost guaranteed there's more than one missing. Bad news. They will now alter the report to stop panic. https://t.co/nO5hNakzQv

— Judyth Vary Baker (@Judyth) October 29, 2025

While the Tulane University has reassured Mississippians that the loose Rhesus monkey from the truck crash has not been injected with any infectious disease, PETA remains convinced that it's still a recipe for disaster. 

Kathy Guillermo - the senior vice president at PETA - told Fox News about it:

"Terrified monkeys running for their lives into unprotected, populated areas is exactly the spark that could ignite the next pandemic."

While agreeing that the infection might not have been intentional, Guillemo continued:

"Monkeys can carry diseases transmissible to humans, including tuberculosis, and Tulane National Primate Research Center, where these monkeys were trucked from, has had disease outbreaks of pathogens deadly to humans in its monkey colony."

Kathy also condemned the escape as the risk of "the greedy monkey experimentation industry".