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“Tiger King” star Joe Exotic has been placed in quarantine.
Joe, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was isolated after being infected with scabies, his legal team told The Dallas Morning News.
Per the Mayo Clinic, scabies is a “contagious skin rash caused by a mite that burrows under the skin and lays eggs.”
The former zookeeper, 61, is currently incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, serving a 21-year sentence for scheming to hire a hitman to murder nemesis Carole Baskin and violating federal wildlife laws.
A representative for the Fort Worth prison confirmed an outbreak of scabies occurred in a housing unit. Visitation is temporarily suspended to the unit.
The prison declined to comment on confinement conditions for anyone in custody but did note that precautions were put in place to reduce the risk of exposure. They added that they take “communicable infections seriously.”
The rep added that the facility “is currently in a state of crisis with staffing, and that includes medical employees.”
“We make every effort to ensure the physical safety and health of the individuals confined to our facilities through a controlled environment that is secure and humane,” the spokesperson said.
Joe’s lawyer, Roger Roots, told the outlet that his client had been experiencing symptoms including a rash and itching for over a month and a half.
His legal team alleged that the reality star had observed “very unsanitary” conditions in the prison, including rats in beds. The prison spox responded to the allegation saying there was no vermin infestation.
Despite the scabies outbreak, Joe’s attorney says the former zookeeper is ‘optimistic’ at the prospect of being freed in 2025 and is even looking into a career in academia.