ZOONOSIS (cont)
Nonhuman Primates (cont'd)
Ceropithecine herpesvirus 1 (CHV 1) is a latent herpesvirus that naturally infects macaque monkeys such as rhesus and cynomologous monkeys. The animal can be harboring the virus with no clinical evidence. Human infection is sometimes acquired by the bite of an infected animal during periods of reactivated infection or by exposure of naked skin or mucous membrane (i.e. eyes, nose, mouth) to infected saliva or monkey excreta. Wounds from contaminated cages and scratches by infected animals are also possible means of infection.
Many macaques have antibody to the agent indicating a latent infection. Although transmission of this disease is poorly understood, death is a possibility for handlers who are bitten by an infected primate.