title: Borna disease virus: evidence of naturally-occurring infection in cats in Australia.
abstract: In Europe, Borna disease virus (BDV) infection has been linked with staggering disease. The aim of this study was serological investigation for BDV infection in Australian cats. De-identified sera were obtained from domestic cats presented at various veterinary clinics. BDV antigen levels were measured by a monoclonal antibody-based ELISA. Antibody to BDV measured semiquantitatively by ELISA was detected in 0.8% of cats from South Australia and 3.2% of animals from NSW Confirmatory assays for ELISA positive samples included Western blot and immunofluorescence assay (IFA) with BDV-specific staining. Seven BDV-antigen positive sera (2.4%) were identified in sera from cats from New South Wales (NSW). In blinded testing, amongst a large number of negative results, repeat submissions over a seven-month period from a cat co-infected with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) were BDV-antigen positive. Anti-BDV antibody detected in this cat by ELISA was confirmed by Western blot (p24/ p40/p56) and IFA. For 4 other anti-BDV ELISA-positive samples, specific reactions with BDV proteins were observed by Western blot. Ten other anti-BDV ELISA-positive samples were IFA positive. These data provide consistent serological evidence that, while horses in Australia are free of BDV infection, there may be a low rate of BDV infection in cats.
authors.affiliation: Northern Blood Research Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. sundrela.kamhieh@charite.de
authors.forename: Sundrela
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kamhieh
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hodgson
authors.forename: Liv
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.forename: Hanns
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.forename: Robert L P
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Flower
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001890:Borna Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001891:Borna disease virus / Q000276:immunology*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002415:Cats; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral