Experimental infection of shrews (<i>Crocidura russula</i>) with Borna disease virus 1: Insights into viral spread and shedding.

ABSTRACT: Numbers of human encephalitis cases caused by infection with Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV1) increase continuously in endemic areas. The reservoir host of BoDV1 is the bicolored white-toothed shrew, albeit few naturally infected individuals of other shrew species have been detected. To establish a reliable experimental reservoir model, 15 greater white-toothed shrews were infected with a shrew-derived BoDV1 isolate by different inoculation routes (intracerebral, intranasal, oral, subcutaneous, and intraperitoneal) and monitored up to 41 days. Except for the oral route, all other animals (12/15) were successfully infected, and the majority of them displayed temporarily reduced feed intake and loss of body weight but no inflammatory lesions. Infectious virus was isolated from 11/12 infected an

SUBMITTER: Nobach D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12080549 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature