No evidence for European bats serving as reservoir for Borna disease virus 1 or other known mammalian orthobornaviruses.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The majority of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in nature and originate from wildlife reservoirs. Borna disease, caused by Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1), is an infectious disease affecting mammals, but recently it has also been shown to cause fatal encephalitis in humans. The endemic character of Borna disease points towards a nature-bound reservoir, with only one shrew species identified as reservoir host to date. Bats have been identified as reservoirs of a variety of zoonotic infectious agents. Endogenous borna-like elements in the genome of certain bat species additionally point towards co-evolution of bats with bornaviruses and therefore raise the question whether bats could serve as a potential reservoir of orthobornaviruses.

Methods

Frozen brain

SUBMITTER: Nobach D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6993374 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature