Borna disease virus infection in racing horses with behavioral and movement disorders.
Abstract: Borna disease virus (BDV) is a neurotropic agent with capacity to infect and cause neurological disease in a broad range of warmblooded hosts including horses, sheep, cattle, cats, and possibly also humans. The epidemiology of BDV is largely unknown. However, it is likely that subclinically infected animals may represent potential virus reservoirs. In two groups of Swedish racing horses, one clinically healthy and one consisting of horses with diffuse neurological signs, the BDV seroprevalence was 24.5% and 57.7%, respectively. BDV RNA was detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in 8 out of 28 (28.6%) investigated horses, the majority of the BDV RNA-positive horses belonging to the group with neurological signs. There was a close relationship between the Swedish equine BDV isolates and previously reported equine BDVs in Europe. Our results point to an association of BDV infection with atypical disease patterns in horses such as diffuse mental and gait disturbances. These findings may be of importance for the understanding of the epidemiology of BDV infections in animals and man.
Publication Date: 1999-05-05 PubMed ID: 10226619DOI: 10.1007/s007050050524Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article discusses the neurotropic Borna disease virus (BDV) and its prevalence in two groups of Swedish racing horses, emphasizing its association with atypical disease manifestations such as diffuse mental and movement impairments in these animals.
BDV and Its Hosts
- The study focuses on Borna disease virus (BDV), a neurotropic virus, capable of infecting various warm-blooded hosts including horses, cattle, cats, and potentially humans as well. It primarily affects the nervous system in these hosts, causing neurological diseases.
- The implications of BDV for humans are only hypothesized as of now and have not been conclusively proven yet.
- The full extent of BDV’s epidemiology is largely unknown, but the virus may reside in animals that show no signs of infection. These subclinically infected hosts could potentially act as virus reservoirs, sustaining the spread of BDV.
BDV Prevalence in Racing Horses
- The study looked at two groups of Swedish racing horses; one comprised of healthy horses, and the other including horses exhibiting diffuse neurological signs.
- It was found that the seroprevalence – the level of a pathogen in a population, as measured in blood serum – of BDV was 24.5% in the healthy group, and considerably higher at 57.7% in the group showing neurological signs.
- On examination of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 28 horses, BDV RNA was detected in 8 of them, accounting for 28.6% of the test subjects.
- Most horses with BDV RNA belonged to the group displaying neurological symptoms, suggesting a correlation between the disease and these symptoms.
Linked to Previous Findings
- The Swedish equine BDV isolates closely matched the ones found in other reported cases of equine BDVs in Europe, indicating a similar infection pattern over a wide geographical area.
Disease Patterns and Implications
- The study highlights that BDV infection in horses is associated with atypical disease patterns, such as various types of mental and movement disorders.
- The findings could aid in gaining a better understanding of the epidemiology of BDV infections in animals, and potentially in humans as well.
Cite This Article
APA
Berg AL, Dörries R, Berg M.
(1999).
Borna disease virus infection in racing horses with behavioral and movement disorders.
Arch Virol, 144(3), 547-559.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s007050050524 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
MeSH Terms
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Antibodies, Viral / immunology
- Base Sequence
- Behavior, Animal
- Borna Disease / epidemiology
- Borna Disease / immunology
- Borna Disease / physiopathology
- Borna Disease / virology
- Borna disease virus / classification
- Borna disease virus / genetics
- Borna disease virus / immunology
- DNA, Viral
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods
- Evaluation Studies as Topic
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horse Diseases / physiopathology
- Horse Diseases / virology
- Horses
- Leukocytes, Mononuclear / virology
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Motor Activity
- Phylogeny
- Prevalence
- RNA, Viral
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Pinto MC, Craveiro H, Johansson Wensman J, Carvalheira J, Berg M, Thompson G. Bornaviruses in naturally infected Psittacus erithacus in Portugal: insights of molecular epidemiology and ecology.. Infect Ecol Epidemiol 2019;9(1):1685632.
- Pinto MC, Rondahl V, Berg M, Ågren E, Carvalheira J, Thompson G, Johansson Wensman J. Detection and phylogenetic analysis of parrot bornavirus 4 identified from a Swedish Blue-winged macaw (Primolius maracana) with unusual nonsuppurative myositis.. Infect Ecol Epidemiol 2019;9(1):1547097.
- Björnsdóttir S, Agustsdóttir E, Blomström AL, Oström IL, Berndtsson LT, Svansson V, Wensman JJ. Serological markers of Bornavirus infection found in horses in Iceland.. Acta Vet Scand 2013 Nov 1;55(1):77.
- Formella S, Jehle C, Sauder C, Staeheli P, Schwemmle M. Sequence variability of Borna disease virus: resistance to superinfection may contribute to high genome stability in persistently infected cells.. J Virol 2000 Sep;74(17):7878-83.
- Degiorgis MP, Berg AL, Hârd Af Segerstad C, Mörner T, Johansson M, Berg M. Borna disease in a free-ranging lynx (Lynx lynx).. J Clin Microbiol 2000 Aug;38(8):3087-91.
- Weissenböck H, Hornig M, Hickey WF, Lipkin WI. Microglial activation and neuronal apoptosis in Bornavirus infected neonatal Lewis rats.. Brain Pathol 2000 Apr;10(2):260-72.
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