A 53-year-old Chinese man who contracted the Monkey B virus in March 2021 has died, marking the disease's first human casualty in the country.
The weekend saw China report its first casualty from a lesser known but dangerous infection caused by the Monkey B virus. As per the China CDC Weekly journal, the deceased patient was a veterinary surgeon. The individual had dissected two dead monkeys in March 2021.
This is not just the first human death from the particular virus in China, it is also its first case of infection. However, the Monkey B virus, or simply called the B-virus is not a newly discovered one. Furthermore, while this was the first Chinese casualty of the B-virus, it wasn’t the first globally.
Causes
A zoonotic disease, the B-virus is found in macaque monkeys. It could be present in their saliva, faeces, urine, brain and the spinal cord tissue. When transmitted to a human, the B-virus can attack the central nervous symptoms, as per the US National Library of Medicine.
The first symptoms in an infected person can generally show up in a time span of one day to three weeks after contracting the virus.
Symptoms
The symptoms are mostly similar to other viral infections including COVID-19. A person infected with B-virus can experience symptoms like fever, muscle ache, chills, fatigue and headache. In advanced stages, B-virus infection can cause swelling in the brain and spinal cord. The disease can cause severe encephalitis or brain inflammation in a patient leading to neurological dysfunction and death.
The fatality rate of the virus is relatively high in infected humans at around 70 to 80 percent.
Risk of Transmission
The B-virus is transmitted through direct contact of a human with an infected macaque monkey or an exchange of bodily fluids, as per the China CDC Weekly journal. The B-virus can survive on surfaces, particularly in moist conditions, for hours.
Human to human transmission risk of Monkey B virus is extremely rare. The people at high risk of catching the disease are veterinarians, animal care workers and lab workers handling monkeys.
History of infections and fatality
The virus was first identified way back in 1932. As per the US CDC, only 50 people have contracted the B-virus since its identification. Only 21 people have died from Monkey B virus. The last documented death before the recent casualty in China happened back in 1997.
Treatment
There is no vaccine for the Monkey B virus. The only treatment available treatment is antiviral medicine. Early diagnosis and treatment is crucial for the survival of a Monkey B virus patient.
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 "DNA Explainer: What is Monkey B virus? Know all about the fatal disease as China reports first human death")
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