Summaries of Presentations at the 32nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

Wednesday, October 14, 1992

11

3 P.M. P.T. (6 P.M. E.T.)
Herpes B Virus Infections Do NOT Occur Without Symptoms # Poster 1715
Humans probably do not develop infection with the herpes B virus without developing symptoms,
according to study investigators. The herpes B virus is a virus of macaca monkey that causes illness
similar to that produced in humans by herpes simplex. Humans who are infected with herpes B while
handling monkeys can develop severe, fatal neurological disorders.
The investigators undertook a controlled study of antibody responses to herpes B virus using blood
sera from 331 monkey handlers and 163 other individuals. The researchers found that none of the
participants, except those already known to have suffered a herpes B infection with symptoms, had
antibody responses. Therefore, despite prolonged and frequent exposure to monkeys carrying herpes
B, human infection remains rare and symptomatic.
"A Controlled Seroprevalence Survey for Asymptomatic Herpes B Virus Seropositivity in Humans," A.
Freifeld, NCI, Bethesda, Md.; Barbara Savarese, M. Murray and Steve Straus, NIAID Bethesda, Md.;
J. Southers, NCRR, Bethesda, Md.; J. Schmitt, NIH Clinical Center, Bethesda, Md.; S. Kalter, VRL,
Inc., San Antonio, Texas; R. Farrar and J. Hillard, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research,
San Antonio, Texas; and D. Brown, Public Health Laboratory Service, London, U.K.