Author
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Richt, Juergen |
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Submitted to: International Conference on Emerging Zoonoses
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2001 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Borna disease (BD) has been known in Central Europe for a long time as a sporadically occurring, progressive viral encephalomyelitis, predominantly affecting horses and sheep and also other domestic and zoo animals. The etiological agent, the Borna Disease Virus (BDV), is a negative-sense, single-stranded, non-segmented RNA virus, which belongs to the new virus family Bornaviridae, a member of the order Mononegavirales. BDV induces severe neurological signs characteristic for a viral encephalitis as well as behavioral alterations. After an incubation period that can last from a few weeks to several months, BDV-infection causes locomotor and sensory dysfunctions which are usually followed by paralysis and death. BD received world-wide attention when BDV-specific antibodies were detected in sera and/or cerebrospinal fluids of a significant number of neuro-psychiatric patients. Because infected animals produce BDV-specific antibodies only after virus replication, it was concluded that also humans are susceptible to infection with BDV. This conclusion was supported by reports which describe the presence of other BDV-markers, such as BDV-RNA or BDV-antigen, in peripheral blood leukocytes or brain tissue of neuro-psychiatric patients. However, all reports linking BDV-infection with psychiatric illnesses of humans could not be consistently confirmed and must, therefore, be considered controversial. Thus, a potential role of BDV-infections in human neuro-psychiatric disorders is still questionable. |
