Lethal Borna disease virus 1 infections of humans and animals – in-depth molecular epidemiology and phylogeography

Ebinger A, Santos PD, Pfaff F, Dürrwald R, Kolodziejek J, Schlottau K, Ruf V, Liesche-Starnecker F, Enßer A, Korn K, Ulrich R, Fürstenau J, Matiasek K, Hansmann F, Seuberlich T, Nobach D, Müller M, Neubauer-Juric A, Suchowski M, Bauswein M, Niller HH, Schmidt B, Tappe D, Cadar D, Homeier-Bachmann T, Haring VC, Pörtner K, Frank C, Mundhenk L, Hoffmann B, Herms J, Baumgärtner W, Nowotny N, Schlegel J, Ulrich RG, Beer M, Rubbenstroth D (2024)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2024

Journal

Nature Communications Nature Publishing Group: Nature Communications

Book Volume: 15

Article Number: 7908

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52192-x

Abstract

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 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.

Authors with CRIS profile

Armin Enßer Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology Klaus Korn Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology

Involved external institutions

Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Bundesforschungsinstitut für Tiergesundheit DE Germany (DE) Robert Koch-Institut (RKI) DE Germany (DE) Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien (Vetmeduni Vienna) / University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna AT Austria (AT) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) DE Germany (DE) Universität Augsburg DE Germany (DE) Universität Leipzig DE Germany (DE) Freie Universität Berlin DE Germany (DE) University of Zurich / Universität Zürich (UZH) CH Switzerland (CH) Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen DE Germany (DE) Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit (LGL) DE Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Regensburg DE Germany (DE) Universität Regensburg DE Germany (DE) Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin (BNITM) / Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine DE Germany (DE) Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover (TiHo) DE Germany (DE) Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Ebinger, A., Santos, P.D., Pfaff, F., Dürrwald, R., Kolodziejek, J., Schlottau, K.,... Rubbenstroth, D. (2024). Lethal Borna disease virus 1 infections of humans and animals – in-depth molecular epidemiology and phylogeography. Nature Communications, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52192-x

MLA:

Ebinger, Arnt, et al. "Lethal Borna disease virus 1 infections of humans and animals – in-depth molecular epidemiology and phylogeography." Nature Communications 15.1 (2024).

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