Which zoonotic viral disease often remains asymptomatic in infected macaques and can be fatal in humans?

• A. Viral pneumonia
• B. Tuberculosis
• C. Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1
• D. Contagious echthyma

Answer: (C)

Zoonotic risk from macaques where the virus can be silent in the animal but deadly in humans. Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1, known as B virus, is carried by macaques and often does not cause illness in these animals, so it can spread without obvious signs. When humans are exposed through bites, scratches, or contact with saliva or neural tissue, the infection can progress rapidly to severe encephalitis and can be fatal if not treated promptly. That makes this virus a critical concern for lab animal workers: strict protective measures, immediate wound care, and rapid antiviral treatment after any exposure are essential. Other options don’t fit this pattern: they are not the same viral risk profile in macaques or do not reflect a virus typically carried asymptomatically by macaques with potentially fatal implications for humans.