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Why has Reston virus raised concerns in monkeys and pigs?

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Ebolavirus and Ebola virus disease — Ebola Numerous filamentous ebolavirus particles (blue) budding from a chronically-infected VERO E6 cell (yellow-green) in this digitally colorized scanning electron micrograph produced by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The Reston virus (RESTV) raised significant concerns because it was the first ebolavirus detected outside of Africa, identified in 1989 after infecting cynomolgus macaques that had been imported into the United States from the Philippines.1

The discovery of the virus in laboratory monkeys in Reston, Virginia, and subsequently in other locations in the United States and Italy, highlighted the potential for the international spread of filoviruses through the trade of nonhuman primates. While RESTV is a member of the ebolavirus genus—a group known for causing severe, often fatal, hemorrhagic disease in humans and nonhuman primates—it is notable that RESTV does not appear to cause death in humans.12

The concern regarding the virus in animals stems from its ability to cause disease in primates and its identification within export facilities, which necessitates strict monitoring and biosecurity measures to prevent the transmission of such pathogens.12