B virus (Herpesvirus simiae) infection in humans: epidemiologic investigation of a cluster.
A cluster of four cases of symptomatic B virus infection in humans occurred in Pensacola, Florida, in March 1987. Three cases occurred in persons who worked with monkeys at a research facility, and the fourth resulted from apparent autoinoculation through use of a nonprescription skin cream. Contact tracing identified 159 persons who may have been exposed to B virus (21 had been exposed to monkeys at the facility and 138 had been exposed to one or more of the case-patients), but no further cases were identified. Comparisons of restriction endonuclease patterns from B virus isolates linked two of the three cases in monkey handlers to one clinically ill monkey and the other to a second, healthy monkey. Three risk factors for human infection were identified: nonuse of mechanical or chemical restraints for monkeys before handling, nonuse of available protective gear, and direct viral inoculation through the application of a topical medication.
Holmes
G P
GP
Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia.
Hilliard
J K
JK
Klontz
K C
KC
Rupert
A H
AH
Schindler
C M
CM
Parrish
E
E
Griffin
D G
DG
Ward
G S
GS
Bernstein
N D
ND
Bean
T W
TW
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000150:complications; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004679:Encephalomyelitis / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D006568:Herpesvirus 1, Cercopithecine; D006801:Humans; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D015047:Zoonoses