Explanation:
Herpesvirus papio type 2 (HVP-2) in baboons (Papio spp.) and Simian Agent 8 (SA8) in African green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) share genetic relatedness and similar biology with B virus, including the establishment of latency in sensory ganglia. Both viruses appear to be highly endemic in their respective host populations and most infections are clinically silent (Eberle et al., 1997; Plesker and Coulibaly, 2002). An outbreak of vesicular disease in a baboon colony, affecting the oral and genital mucosa and originally attributed to SA8, was later determined to be due to HVP-2 (Levin et al., 1986; Levin et al., 1988; Eberle et al., 1995). Primary SA8 infection in a group of African green monkeys was associated with transient vesicular stomatitis in young animals (Plesker and Coulibaly, 2002). To date, neither HVP-2 nor SA8 has been recognized as a human pathogen.
