Markus Bauswein, Ehab Eid, Lisa Eidenschink, Barbara Schmidt, André Gessner, Dennis Tappe, Dániel Cadar, Merle M Böhmer, Laura Jockel, Nora van Wickeren, Tamara Garibashvili, Isabel Wiesinger, Christina Wendl, Josef G Heckmann, Klemens Angstwurm, Martin Freyer
BACKGROUND: Within endemic regions in southern and eastern Germany, Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) causes rare zoonotic spill-over infections in humans, leading to encephalitis with a high case-fatality risk. So far, intra-vitam diagnosis has mainly been based on RT-qPCR from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serology, both being associated with diagnostic challenges. Whilst low RNA copy numbers in CSF limit the sensitivity of RT-qPCR from this material, seroconversion often occurs late during the course of the disease...
April 12, 2024: Infection