Temple Monkeys Can Spread Animal Virus to People

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Macaques that inhabit "monkey temples" in Asia are a potential source of human infection with a virus that normal affects monkeys -- so-called simian foamy virus (SFV) -- research indicates.

It has already been shown that SFV can be transmitted to humans by exposure to captive primates in research settings, by hunting and butchering bushmeat, and by cross-species transplant of organs.

The current article, in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, is the first report of cross-species infection from a free-ranging population of nonhuman primates in Asia, where monkeys often inhabit religious sites.

International tourists frequently visit these temples and are sometimes bitten when they feed the monkeys.

Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, from the University of Washington in Seattle, and her colleagues tested for SFV in blood samples obtained from 82 workers living in the vicinity of the Sangeh monkey temple in central Bali, Indonesia, and from 38 local macaques.

One man, who reported having been bitten and scratched by macaques when visiting the temple, tested positive for the virus, as did 34 (90 percent) of the macaques. DNA testing showed that the virus from the man was closely related to an isolate from one of the monkeys.

Although so far there have been no recorded cases of disease linked to SFV among infected humans, the investigators note that Asia is ripe for an outbreak of primate-borne human disease, given "the combination of large primate reservoirs, prevalent human-primate contact, a growing immunocompromised population, and advanced infrastructure in Asia."

They recommend that the animals be fed only by specially trained personnel who minimize physical contact.

SOURCE: Emerging Infectious Diseases, July 2005.