Hong Kong Reports First Case of Virus B Infection in Human
Virus illustration. (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto/Evgenii Kovalev)
- Recently, Hong Kong was shocked by the discovery of the first case of B virus infection in humans. A patient 37 was infected with the B virus or herpes simiae virus after suffering a wound due to contact with a wild monkey during a visit to Kam Shan Country Park at the end of February.
As a result of this incident, on March 21 the patient was rushed to the ICU at Yan Chai Hospital after experiencing symptoms of fever and decreased level of consciousness. The patient is currently in critical condition.
Regarding the B virus, Australian Griffith University epidemiologist Dicky Budiman said the virus does have a fatal effect on humans. Current data shows that 80 percent of people infected with this virus end up dying.
"If 10 people are infected, at least 8 people die. The case fatality rate is currently at 80 percent. Whether it's from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO). "This means that many cases occur because they are not detected," explained Dicky when talking to detikcom, Saturday (6/4/2024).
Dicky said that the lack of rapid detection of this disease is what triggers the high number of deaths due to virus B. Delays in treatment cause the virus to attack the brain, increasing the risk of fatality.
Even so, Dicky said that Indonesian people do not need to worry too much about the existence of virus B. He also linked this to the differences in the types of monkeys in Indonesia and those in Hong Kong.
"If we talk about the potential for the spread of virus B in Indonesia, the possibility is very small so far. Because this is also talking about types of monkeys that live in subtropical temperatures or tend to be like in Europe, Japan, Korea, China, including Hong Kong, this is almost the same, right? " he explained. "So this is talking about the reservoir where the virus can live in the animal, but the animal doesn't get sick in this monkey, right," continued Dicky.
Dicky emphasized that the B virus is not a threat to Indonesia, especially as a pandemic, especially since human-to-human transmission is still very rare. However, he reminded that each party must continue to maintain and pay attention to developments so that public health problems can be prevented. "Transmission between humans (virus B) is still very rare. So far the world has only found one case between humans," he stressed.