DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN B-VIRUS (HERPESVIRUS-SIMIAE) INFECTIONS IN MICHIGAN

Three men who had worked at the same animal research facility and had had contact with macaque monkeys were infected with B virus (Herpesvir us simiae). Their clinical presentations varied from self-limited asep tic meningitis syndrome to fulminant encephalomyelitis and death. Pati ent 1 was treated only after a respiratory arrest and other signs of a dvanced brain stem dysfunction had occurred. He died 8 days after hosp ital admission, despite treatment with acyclovir. Patient 2 presented with subtle signs and symptoms of brain stem encephalitis. He received antiviral therapy with intravenous ganciclovir. Patient 3 had a heada che without meningismus and was also treated with acyclovir. Both pati ents 2 and 3 survived and did not have objective sequelae. Viral cultu ring, ELISA and western blot antibody testing, and magnetic resonance imaging all proved useful in the diagnosis of these patients' conditio ns.