title: Health care professionals at risk of infection with Borna disease virus - evidence from a large hospital in China (Chongqing).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human Borna disease virus (BDV) infections have recently been reported in China. BDV causes cognitive and behavioural disturbances in animals. The impact on human mental disorders is subject to debate, but previous studies worldwide have found neuropsychiatric patients more frequently infected than healthy controls. A few isolates were recovered from severely depressed patients, but contagiousness of BDV strain remains unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  We addressed the risk of infection in health care settings at the first affiliated hospital of Chongqing Medical University (CQMU), located in downtown Chongqing, a megacity in Southwest China. Between February 2012 and March 2013, we enrolled 1529 participants, of whom 534 were outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD), 615 were hospital personnel, and 380 were healthy controls who underwent a health check. Infection was determined through BDV-specific circulating immune complexes (CIC), RNA, and selective antibodies (blood).
  
  
  RESULTS
  One-fifth of the hospital staff (21.8%) were found to be infected (CIC positive), with the highest prevalence among psychiatry and oncology personnel, which is twice as many as were detected in the healthy control group (11.1%), and exceeds the prevalence detected in MDD patients (18.2%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BDV circulates unnoticed in hospital settings in China, putting medical staff at risk and warranting clarification of infection modes and introduction of prevention measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 1 Yixueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, China. 805455518@qq.com.|Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice, P.R. China, Shanghai, 200063, China. 805455518@qq.com.
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. liv.bode@web.de.
authors.forename: Liv
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 1 Yixueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, China. 77948968@qq.com.|Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. 77948968@qq.com.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. 77948968@qq.com.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. 616664336@qq.com.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. 616664336@qq.com.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. 530229652@qq.com.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. 530229652@qq.com.
authors.forename: Siwen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. 603476531@qq.com.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. 603476531@qq.com.
authors.forename: Lujun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. 476858840@qq.com.
authors.forename: Rongzhong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 1 Yixueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, China. 923177215@qq.com.|Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. 923177215@qq.com.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. 923177215@qq.com.
authors.forename: Mingju
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. 714058936@qq.com.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. 714058936@qq.com.
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. 452252956@qq.com.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. 452252956@qq.com.
authors.forename: Shigang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 1 Yixueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, China. 1259446388@qq.com.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 1 Yixueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, China. 75564090@qq.com.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. hanns.ludwig@web.de.
authors.forename: Hanns
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, 1 Yixueyuan Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, 400016, China. xiepeng@cqmu.edu.cn.|Institute of Neuroscience, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China. xiepeng@cqmu.edu.cn.|Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Chongqing, 400016, China. xiepeng@cqmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001890:Borna Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D001891:Borna disease virus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral