For the first time, a monkey carrying the AIDS virus has been found in China. The rhesus monkey had originally been caught by poachers and was turned over to a wildlife preserve after the poachers were caught.

Last December, the Guangxi Forest Public Security department caught a group of poachers who had 45 rhesus monkeys in their possession. According to the poachers, they were planning to sell the monkeys to a restaurant in southern China.

Normally, these monkeys would be turned over to a wildlife preserve and after passing through a quarantine inspection, returned to the wild. But in late December, the preserve discovered that one monkey carried the AIDS virus and three monkeys carried the tuberculosis virus. These four monkeys were immediately disposed of. Of the remaining monkeys, 40% had dysentery and 60% the hepatitis B virus.

The hepatitis B virus is commonly found in wild monkeys and can infect humans. A person infected with hepatitis B will have a fever and break out in a rash. If it is not treated in time, it could be fatal.