Many of us primatology folks remember when a young researcher at Yerkes died because of exposure to macaque-borne Herpes B. (I was in my first year of grad school.) She was exposed because of aerosol spray from hosing down a macaque enclosure.https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/14/us/a-drop-of-virus-from-a-monkey-kills-a-researcher-in-6-weeks.html …
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Case fatality rate of Herpes B infection in humans is 80%. Best for you and for the monkeys to keep your distance.
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The jokey reaction to this news item is an unintended consequence of our commodification of monkeys as cute and funny.
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I’m not trying to stoke panic. It’s not easy to catch. BUT once you do you can’t uncatch it and chances are good it will kill you. Just stay away from the monkeys whether here or any tourist spot. Let the professionals handle them.
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And one more thing: human herpes is also not a joke. It’s a super common highly manageable STI. Grow up.
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Yikes. Though this validates my long-standing horror at seeing tourists in Southeast Asia treating macaques like petting-zoo bunny rabbits
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It’s really brutal. Causes encephalitis. When I set up my lab I spoke to the health center and local hospital as well as the directorate of research safety to set up direct avenues for assessment in case of an exposure. At yerkes I had to carry a card with a cdc # on it.
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Is there no vaccine for Herpes B?
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For chrissakes do not give these monkeys corona virus infected bat soup. I have a vacation coming up in Florida and I do not want it to be interrupted or disturbed in any way.
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Hope it’s not in Ft Lauderdale or Miami. Ft Lauderdale has human sewage pouring into the streets & canals daily.
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