Borna disease virus in Raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Japan.
We have examined the seroprevalence of BDV in wild Raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Hokkaido, Japan. Serum samples from raccoons were examined using ELISA and Western blot assays to detect the presence of serum antibodies that react specifically to BDV antigens. Among 549 investigated individuals, eleven (2.0%) showed a positive reaction to BDV antigens. Brain tissue samples from five individuals were subjected to RT-PCR, which detected BDV sequences in three of them. Sequence analysis revealed a high degree of genetic conservation between BDV sequences derived from raccoons and previously published sequences derived from other animal species.
Hagiwara
Katsuro
K
School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Hokkaido, Japan. k-hagi@rakuno.ac.jp
Matoba
Youhei
Y
Asakawa
Mitsuhiko
M
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001890:Borna Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001891:Borna disease virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001921:Brain / Q000821:virology; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D011821:Raccoons / Q000821:virology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D017931:DNA Primers; D012367:RNA, Viral