Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
it will be important to follow the course of SFV infection in immunocom-
promised (e.g., through malnutrition or coinfection with other immune
compromising pathogens) humans who may present a more “permissive”
environment for this retrovirus.
Transmission of SFV has been shown to occur from long-tailed macaques
to several humans who came into contact with macaques at monkey temples
in Bali (Jones-Engel
et al
.,
2005
; Jones-Engel
et al
.,
2008
). Phylogenetic data
showed that the virus in the infected humans were almost identical to that
isolated from long-tailed macaques at the temple where they worked. These
findings are particularly important in light of the brisk tourism industry in
southeast Asia, which brings millions of visitors from all over the world every
year to the region, many of whom take advantage of opportunities to come
into contact with non-human primates (Fuentes,
2006
). We used mathematical
models to estimate the risk of SFV transmission from a macaque to a visitor
to a monkey temple in Bali (Engel
et al
.,
2006
). This model predicted that
six out of 1000 visitors would become infected with SFV. Of course, given
SFV's current status as a “virus without a disease,” there is no evidence that
SFV infection, in and of itself, is a risk to public health. However, the fact of
primate-to-human transmission of a retrovirus in multiple contexts in south-
east Asia should give us pause. SFV should be regarded as a “marker” for
the potential transmission of other agents, including agents as yet unknown
between humans and non-human primates. As such, this information should
reinforce efforts to reduce human-primate contact, especially in high-risk
contexts, such as monkey temples, pet markets, and in urban areas with pri-
mate populations.
Simian type D retrovirus (SRV)
Simian type D retrovirus (SRV), is a multi-serotype group of retroviruses of
the taxonomic family
Retroviridae
. This virus is found almost exclusively
in the genus
Macaca
. SRV serotypes 1 and 2 are associated with long-tailed
macaques (Lerche
et al
.,
1997
; Wilkinson
et al
.,
2003
). The prevalence and
characteristics of this virus are virtually unknown in most free-ranging popula-
tions of primates (Engel
et al
.,
2008
; Jones-Engel
et al
., 2006a; Schillaci
et al
.,
2005
). Laboratory data suggests that the virus is transmitted among animals
through bite wounds (Lerche
et al
.,
1987
). SRV is known to cause epidemics
of an AIDS-like syndrome in laboratory macaques (Guzman
et al
.,
1999
; Marx
et al
.,
1985
; Tsai
et al
.,
1990
). There is some evidence that laboratory and zoo
workers exposed to SRV + animals can become infected with the virus though
