[Human infection with simian herpes B virus in Africa]

Simian herpes B virus or Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1 (CeHV-1) is enzootic (80% to 100%) in Asian monkeys of the genus Macaca but is also present in other monkey species. This virus, discovered in 1933, is closely related to human herpesvirus 1 and human herpesvirus 2, responsible respectively for labial and genital herpes. CeHV-1 infection is generally asymptomatic or mild in monkeys but in humans it may lead to fulminant encephalomyelitis that has an 80% lethality rate without treatment. Infections in humans are usually attributed to animal bites or scratches or to percutaneous or mucosal inoculation with infected materials from asymptomatic monkeys. Although the incidence of human infection with CeHV-1 is low, until the availability of antiviral therapy its death rate made this virus a serious zoonotic threat. Even now, good knowledge of its clinical signs and risk factors is essential for only they allow early and swift antiviral therapy (acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famciclovir) and prevent severe disease or fatal outcome. This article describes the virus, the resulting disease in human and a suspected clinical case involving a woman bit by a vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops) in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.