More than a quarter of the rhesus macaque monkeys at a Florida state park carry the deadly herpes B virus, according to new research published in Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases.
And scientists warn that the virus, which is relatively common and mild in the primates, can be lethal to humans.
As many as 30 percent of the rhesus macaque monkeys at the Silver Springs State Park in Central Florida excrete the virus through saliva and other bodily fluids, researchers found through blood sample data of 317 rhesus macaques examined in Marion County, Florida, between 2000 and 2012.
