TY - JOUR AU - Ostrowski, Stephanie R. AU - Leslie, Mira J. AU - Parrott, Terri AU - Abelt, Susan AU - Piercy, Patrick E. T1 - B-virus from Pet Macaque Monkeys: An Emerging Threat in the United States? T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 1998 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 117 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Of primary concern when evaluating macaque bites are bacterial and B-virus infections. B-virus infection is highly prevalent (80% to 90%) in adult macaques and may cause a potentially fatal meningoencephalitis in humans. We examined seven nonoccupational exposure incidents involving 24 persons and eight macaques. Six macaques were tested for herpes B; four (67%) were seropositive. A common observation was that children were more than three times as likely to be bitten than adults. The virus must be assumed to be a potential health hazard in macaque bite wounds; this risk makes macaques unsuitable as pets. KW - United States DO - 10.3201/eid0401.980117 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/4/1/98-0117_article ER - End of Reference