Arnt Ebinger, Pauline D. Santos, Florian Pfaff, Ralf Dürrwald, Jolanta Kolodziejek, Kore Schlottau, Viktoria Ruf, Friederike Liesche-Starnecker, Armin Ensser, Klaus Korn, Reiner Ulrich, Jenny Fürstenau, Kaspar Matiasek, Florian Hansmann, Torsten Seuberlich, Daniel Nobach, Matthias Müller, Antonie Neubauer-Juric, Marcel Suchowski, Markus Bauswein, Hans-Helmut Niller, Barbara Schmidt, Dennis Tappe, Daniel Cadar, Timo Homeier-Bachmann, Viola C. Haring, Kirsten Pörtner, Christina Frank, Lars Mundhenk, Bernd Hoffmann, Jochen Herms, Wolfgang Baumgärtner, Norbert Nowotny, Jürgen Schlegel, Rainer G. Ulrich, Martin Beer, Dennis Rubbenstroth
- Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) is the causative agent of Borna disease, a fatal neurologic disorder of domestic mammals and humans, resulting from spill-over infection from its natural reservoir host, the bicolored white-toothed shrew (Crocidura leucodon). The known BoDV-1-endemic area is remarkably restricted to parts of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. To gain comprehensive data on its occurrence, we analysed diagnostic material from suspected BoDV-1-induced encephalitis cases based on clinical and/or histopathological diagnosis. BoDV-1 infection was confirmed by RT-qPCR in 207 domestic mammals, 28 humans and seven wild shrews. Thereby, this study markedly raises the number of published laboratory-confirmed human BoDV-1 infections and provides a first comprehensive summary. Generation of 136 new BoDV-1 genome sequences from animals and humans facilitated an in-depth phylogeographic analysis, allowing for the definition of risk areas for zoonotic BoDV-1 transmissionBorna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) is the causative agent of Borna disease, a fatal neurologic disorder of domestic mammals and humans, resulting from spill-over infection from its natural reservoir host, the bicolored white-toothed shrew (Crocidura leucodon). The known BoDV-1-endemic area is remarkably restricted to parts of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. To gain comprehensive data on its occurrence, we analysed diagnostic material from suspected BoDV-1-induced encephalitis cases based on clinical and/or histopathological diagnosis. BoDV-1 infection was confirmed by RT-qPCR in 207 domestic mammals, 28 humans and seven wild shrews. Thereby, this study markedly raises the number of published laboratory-confirmed human BoDV-1 infections and provides a first comprehensive summary. Generation of 136 new BoDV-1 genome sequences from animals and humans facilitated an in-depth phylogeographic analysis, allowing for the definition of risk areas for zoonotic BoDV-1 transmission and facilitating the assessment of geographical infection sources. Consistent with the low mobility of its reservoir host, BoDV-1 sequences showed a remarkable geographic association, with individual phylogenetic clades occupying distinct areas. The closest genetic relatives of most human-derived BoDV-1 sequences were located at distances of less than 40 km, indicating that spill-over transmission from the natural reservoir usually occurs in the patient´s home region.…
