Epidemiologic Notes and Reports
Update: Filovirus Infection in Animal Handlers
Since November 1989, seven shipments of cynomolgus monkeys
imported from three suppliers in the Philippines have been
actively infected with filovirus (1,2). Transmission among
monkeys in quarantine facilities has occurred; many of the
animals have died. Limited laboratory experience with this
filovirus suggests that it is antigenically and genetically
distinguishable from the African members of the filoviridae, even
though there is some cross-reactivity between this virus and
Ebola virus strains.
Five animal handlers at a quarantine facility that received
five shipments of infected animals had a high level of daily
exposure to these animals. Four of these persons have serologic
evidence of recent infection, as detected by immunofluoresence
and Western blot tests, with a strain of filovirus isolated from
the infected monkeys. Three of the four have seroconverted since
November 1989. The fourth, for whom only one serum sample is
available, has filovirus-specific IgG and IgM serum antibody.
None of the four have had an unexplained febrile illness since
November 1989.
Of the animal handlers who seroconverted, one cut his finger
while performing a necropsy on an infected animal. Daily
monitoring of this person following that exposure did not detect
antigenemia (3). Laceration is the presumed mode of transmission
for this person; a mode of transmission has not been determined
for the other three.
Reported by: RK Miller, MD, Fairfax Health District; JY
Baumgardner, MAS, CW Armstrong, MD, SR Jenkins, VMD, CD Woolard,
MPH, GB Miller, Jr, MD, State Epidemiologist, Virginia State Dept
of Health. PE Rollin, MD, PB Jahrling, PhD, TG Ksiazek, DVM, CJ
Peters, MD, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious
Diseases, Frederick, Maryland. Div of Quarantine, Center for
Prevention Svcs; Div of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, Center
for Infectious Diseases, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: The specific biologic characteristics of this
filovirus (e.g., infectivity and pathogenicity in humans) cannot
be readily extrapolated from past experience with the virulent
viruses isolated from human epidemics in Africa. However, the
findings in this investigation demonstrate that although this
filovirus can infect, it appears to have lower pathogenicity for
humans than does its African counterparts. The high level of
transmission to animal handlers in this single facility and the
possibility of importation of other virulent viruses underscore
the importance of strict adherence to quarantine measures for
handling monkeys.
In collaboration with other institutions in the United States
and in endemic areas, CDC will continue to study these viruses.
In addition, CDC will continue to monitor and regulate the
quarantine facilities that import nonhuman primates into the
United States.
References
CDC. Ebola virus infection in imported primates--Virginia,
1989. MMWR 1989;38:831-2,837-8.
CDC. Update: ebola-related filovirus infection in nonhuman
primates and interim guidelines for handling nonhuman primates
during transit and quarantine. MMWR 1990;39:22-4,29-30.3.
Jahrling PB, Geisbert TW, Dalgard DW, et al. Preliminary report:
isolation of Ebola virus from monkeys imported to USA. Lancet
1990;335:502-5.
Disclaimer
All MMWR HTML documents published before January 1993 are electronic conversions from ASCII text into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.
