After the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, China has reported its first death due to Monkey B Virus (BV).
According to the reports, a Beijing-based veterinary doctor succumbed to the virus. The deceased was also the country’s first human infection case with Monkey B Virus.
The 53-year-old male veterinary doctor, who worked researching on non-human primates, showed early symptoms of nausea and vomiting. According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the vet began to show symptoms a month after dissecting two dead monkeys in early March.
As he showed signs, the vet took treatment in several hospitals. However, the treatment failed, and he eventually died on May 27. The CDC journal said that there was no evidence of human fatality of BV infections in China before, however, the vet’s death has marked the first human infection case with BV identified in China.
Meanwhile, his family members and contacts have tested negative for the infection and are reportedly safe for now.
The Monkey B virus, first detected in 1931, is an alphaherpesvirus enzootic found in macaque monkeys of the genus Macaca. The Monkey B virus can be spread through direct contact with the infected money or through the exchange of bodily secretions.
The death rate of the virus is close to 50 per cent. Since the identification of the virus in 1932, there have been 50 documented human B virus infection cases.