Don't Touch the Monkeys! Florida Macaques Carry Virus Lethal to Humans
- by Kelli Lowe
- in Global Media
- — Jan 14, 2018
Feral rhesus macaque monkeys at a Florida state park carry a herpes virus risky to humans.
Scientists who have been studying the increasing rhesus macaque population in the Silver Springs State Park claimed that the monkeys do not just carry herpes B, a common trait among the species.
To date, only 50 cases of herpes B have been documented in humans in the US since the disease was first identified in 1932, and numerous infections resulted from animal scratches or bites, according to the CDC. Be that as it may, the specialists, who distributed their discoveries in the CDC diary Emerging Infectious Diseases, say the issue has not been completely considered.
Human cases of the virus have been rare, with about 50 documented worldwide, and there have been no known transmissions of it to people from wild rhesus macaques in Florida or elsewhere.
"When it occurs, it can bring about serious mind harm or demise if the patient isn't dealt with quickly", a CDC rep says in an announcement. Blood samples from 317 macaques revealed that 84 monkeys carried the virus and that the odds of a monkey being infected increased with age.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission didn't go into details on plans. The disease results in severe brain damage or death if not treated immediately, and of the 50 infections, 21 proved to be fatal.
The researchers estimate that up to 30 percent of the scores of Florida's feral macaques may be actively excreting the virus.
Now, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that about 25 percent of the monkeys carry macacine herpesvirus 1 (McHV-1), which causes only mild symptoms, if any, in monkeys but can be deadly in people. "Monkey, monkey, monkey!" he cried.
Minutes later another troop was running along the opposite riverbank.
Rhesus monkeys come from Asia, and are one of the biggest non-native wildlife species in Florida.
"They didn't know monkeys could swim", O'Lenick said.
Previous studies of the Silver Springs Park rhesus populations had identified herpes B in the animals, according to a study published in May 2016 by the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS).
While there are no official statistics on monkey attacks on humans in the park, a state-sponsored study in the 1990s found 31 monkey-human incidents, with 23 resulting in human injury between 1977 and 1984.
Wildlife officials are now pushing for the removal of the monkeys roaming in Florida in the interest of public health and safety.
