What is this deadly virus in monkeys “about to spread” to humans?

The simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV) worries scientists. Considered a critical threat to monkeys, no human infections have been reported to date.

This was revealed by a study conducted by the University of Colorado in Boulder and published a few days ago in the journal Cell.

Close to Ebola and HIV

Researchers believe this virus, from the simian arterivirus family, causes a deadly disease similar to Ebola or HIV in some monkeys and is “about to spread” to man.

“This animal virus has figured out how to access human cells, multiply and evade some of the important immune mechanisms we expect to protect us from an animal virus. It’s pretty rare.”said lead author Sara Sawyer, a professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at the University of Colorado. “We should pay attention to this.”

Avoid a new pandemic

“COVID is just the latest in a long line of animal-to-human transmissions, some of which have led to global catastrophes”Sara Sawyer added. “We hope that by increasing awareness of the viruses that we need to watch out for, we can move forward so that if human infections start to occur, we will quickly be hooked.”

To avoid a new pandemic, scientists propose, among other things, to initially monitor human populations in close contact with animals carrying the virus.

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