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Horror as vet dies of brain-swelling Monkey B virus after dissecting two dead primates in China

2021-07-20 00:00:00.0 太阳报-世界新闻原网页

A VET who became the first human case of the brain-swelling Monkey B virus in China has died.

The 53-year-old man showed early-onset symptoms of nausea and vomiting, a month after he dissected two dead monkeys in early March.

The vet was the first known case of primate-transmitted disease Monkey BV Credit: Getty - Contributor

He was treated in several hospitals for the illness but eventually died on May 27, Global Times reports.

Non of his close contacts were infected with the disease and it doesn't pose a risk to public health, with only workers coming into contact with monkeys and animals in China at risk.

The Monkey B virus is normally transmitted through direct contact and exchange of bodily fluids, just like herpes simplex virus (HSV) in humans, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The China CDC said that the researcher who died was a “veterinary surgeon (male) who worked in an institute specialised in non-human primate breeding and experimental research in Beijing.

“He dissected two dead monkeys March 4 and 6 and experienced nausea and vomiting followed by fever with neurological symptoms one month later.

"As a result, the patient visited doctors in several hospitals but eventually died on 27 May,” it said in its weekly statement released last week.

OUTBREAK FEARS

Similar to coronavirus, the first symptoms of the Monkey B Virus are flu-like, which include fever and chills, muscle ache, fatigue, headache.

The symptoms may vary between one day to three weeks.

In time, the person infected with the virus may develop small blisters in the wound, while other symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, hiccups.

As the disease worsens, the virus may lead to swelling of the brain and spinal cord, resulting in neurological and inflammatory symptoms, problems with muscle coordination, brain damage and severe damage to the nervous system eventually leading to death.

The fatality rate of BV infections is 70-80 percent and was first identified in 1932.

It's thought to have infected only 50 people up until 2020, of which 21 died.

“Although the risk for secondary transmission appears to be minimal, one case of human-to-human transmission of herpes B virus has previously been documented,” the CDC said.

It added that the monkey virus infections have mainly involved “primate veterinarians, animal care personnel, or laboratory researchers in North America.”

Apart from the researcher who died, samples including “cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), blister fluid, blood, airway aspirates, nasal swab, throat swab, and plasma” were collected from two of his close contacts as well.