Monkey B virus: What is it? Is it like monkeypox? - Deseret News

This mysterious Monkey B virus has been found in China

China has reported the first human case of Monkey B virus after a veterinarian has died.

SHARE This mysterious Monkey B virus has been found in China
People wearing face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

People wearing face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 walk along a crowded pedestrian shopping street in Beijing, on Saturday, July 17, 2021. Multiple reports suggested that Chinese officials have discovered a case of the rare Monkey B virus in a veterinarian in China, according to Fox News.

Mark Schiefelbein, Associated Press

Multiple reports suggested that Chinese officials have discovered a case of the rare Monkey B virus in a veterinarian in China, according to Fox News.

  • The veterinarian has become the first person in China to contract and die of the virus.

What were the symptoms of the Monkey B virus?

Per Fox News, the veterinarian suffered from severe nausea and a fever for two months.

  • These symptoms occurred after he dissected two monkeys for research, The Washington Post reports. Researchers collected blood and saliva samples from the veterinarian, where the Monkey B virus was discovered.

Officials contacted two close contacts of the veterinarian — a male doctor and a female nurse — to test them for the virus. They both tested negative, according to The Washington Post.

What is the Monkey B virus?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the virus — also known as the B virus, the herpes B virus — is an extremely rare disease that “lead to severe brain damage or death if you do not get treatment immediately.”

  • “People typically get infected with B virus if they are bitten or scratched by an infected macaque monkey, or have contact with the monkey’s eyes, nose, or mouth. Only one case has been documented of an infected person spreading B virus to another person,” according to the CDC.

Is this monkeypox?

No. Monkeypox is a completely different disease that has been making headlines in the United States after a Dallas resident tested positive for the virus, as I wrote for the Deseret News.