A 37-year-old man wounded by a wild monkey in Hong Kong is suffering from infection with B virus.
- This is the first reported case of a B virus infection in a human in Hong Kong, however, it is not the first in the world.
- The first person to catch B virus was a young doctor called William Brebner, who died at Bellevue Hospital, New York, in November 1932.
- The virus belongs to the herpes family, hence its other moniker:
- “Herpes virus B” is a biosafety category 4 virus, the highest level — the same as Ebola and unknown new pathogens.
- B virus infections in people are usually caused by macaque monkeys. These kinds of monkeys are commonly infected with B virus, but they usually do not have symptoms, or have just mild disease.
- Prompt treatment with antiviral drugs can be lifesaving, but B virus remains a deadly pathogen. If not treated promptly, it has a mortality rate of 70 per cent.
- There is no vaccine against this virus.
- Most cases of B virus infection have involved laboratory workers handling captive animals or monkey tissues, rather than those living alongside these excitable, toothy animals in the wild.
