China reports first human case, death of rare and highly fatal monkey B virus

Over the weekend, Chinese health authorities reported the recent death of a veterinarian caused by the Monkey B virus, which he caught one of the animals he handled. Although often fatal if left untreated, the virus rarely infects humans and is not considered to be very contagious.

Monkey B is a species of herpesvirus that has had many different names (including only B virus), but is now officially known as Macacine alphaherpesvirus 1 or McHV-1. The name refers to its natural host, the large genus of ancient world monkeys known as macaques. Genetically, it is a very close relative of the herpes simplex-1 virus and herpes simplex-2 virus, or HSV-1 and HSV-2, two of the most common forms of herpes in the man. Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 can cause genital herpes or cold sores, but HSV-1 tends to cause the latter and HSV-2 the former.

Like HSV-1, Monkey B in macaques tends cause mild cold sores or no symptoms at all. But it is capable of causing serious diseases, often neurological, on rare occasions when it happens to make people sick. Since its discovery in the 1930s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been at least 50 reported cases of Monkey B in humans, with 21 people having died as a result. Most of these victims, like the latest case in China, contracted it through relatives contact with bodily fluids infected macaque monkeys (many herpesviruses can remain dormant in the body after acute infection).

Last Saturday, those responsible for the Chinese version of the CDC reported the case. According to the report, the victim was a 53-year-old veterinarian in Beijing who worked at a research institute focused on primate breeding. In mid-March, it dissected two dead monkeys. Aa month later, he developed nausea and vomiting, as well as fever and others, neurological symptoms not described.

In mid-April, tests of his cerebrospinal fluid indicated the possible presence of Monkey B, and other blood and saliva samples were taken from the man and two of his relatives (a doctor and a nurse). Although tests confirmed his infection, the other two people tested negative. Sadly, after more than a month of multiple trips to the hospital, the man died of his infection on May 27. According to health officials, this is the first known case and death attributed to the B monkey ever documented in China.

Monkey B can be very deadly, even with antiviral treatment now available, but luckily it seems to be very difficult to catch. A single documented case ofat-human transmission has been reported since 1932, and this was a particularly special case. According to the 1987 CDC Report above, the victim probably contracted it while applying the same skin cream used to soothe the skin sores of her infected husband to a spot on her finger that had been scratched hard enough that he started to bleed. The husband and two other victims from the same group had all caught it while working in a research center.

This does not mean that the risk is entirely zero for people, even in the United States. A few years ago, the virus was discovered to be widespread in a population of rhesus monkeys living in that of Florida Silver Springs State Park. While only a small percentage of these monkeys can actively shed the virus at any given time, this is a good example of why it’s important not to get too close. the wildlife around us, no matter how cute or friendly they may seem.