Peanut, who has amassed more than half a million Instagram followers, was euthanized by officials to be tested for rabies.

Peanut, who has amassed more than half a million Instagram followers, was euthanized by officials to be tested for rabies.

Peanut, the Instagram-famous squirrel that was seized from its owner’s home Wednesday, has been euthanized by New York state officials.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation took Peanut, as well as a raccoon named Fred, on Wednesday after the agency learned the animals were “sharing a residence with humans, creating the potential for human exposure to rabies," it said in a joint statement with the Chemung County Department of Health.

Both Peanut and Fred were euthanized to test for rabies, the statement said. It was unclear when the animals were euthanized.

  • rtxn@lemmy.worldEnglish
    131·
    13 days ago

    There were cases where symptomatic patients survived, but the number is in the lower single digits and they all suffered debilitating neural damage. I wouldn’t call it recovery, no.

    The immunoglobulin treatment aims to eliminate the pathogen before it can infect the nervous system. Once that happens, once the headaches start, it’s game over.

    • ITGuyLevi@programming.dev
      2·
      13 days ago

      Oh wow, that’s pretty awesome (not the debilitating neural damage part), I was always under the impression that by the first symptom it was a death sentence.

      I still never want anything to do with it, but at least it isn’t as bleak as I had been lead to believe.

      • rtxn@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        12 days ago

        It’s called the Milwaukee protocol, and it’s considered to be a failure.

        The patient is put in a medically induced coma and treated with strong antiviral medication until the natural immune system can produce antibodies, but even a successful treatment doesn’t guarantee survival. Also, the debilitating neural damage. Honestly, I might still prefer a morphine overdose.