Herpes B virus was first identified in 1932 following the death of Dr. William Brebner, a young physician who was bitten by a monkey while researching the virus that causes poliomyelitis. Soon after, Brebner developed localized erythema, followed by lymphangitis, lymphadenitis and, ultimately, transverse myelitis. Neurologic tissues obtained during Dr. Brebner’s autopsy revealed the presence of an ultrafilterable agent that appeared similar to HSV. This isolate was originally termed“W virus.” Within a year of Brebner’s death, Dr. Albert Sabin identified an unfilterable agent from the same tissue, which he later named B virus. Sabin further described the lethality of B virus by showing that infectivity was independent of the route of inoculation. Additionally, it was observed that B virus induced immunologic responses similar to HSV-1, as well as shared similarities to HVP-2 and Langur herpesvirus, two other nonhuman primate alphaherpesviruses.
B virus infection is extremely rare, but it can 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.
Symptoms typically start within one month of being exposed to a monkey with B virus infection, but could appear in as little as three to seven days.