title: A Variegated Squirrel Bornavirus Associated with Fatal Human Encephalitis.
abstract: Between 2011 and 2013, three breeders of variegated squirrels (Sciurus variegatoides) had encephalitis with similar clinical signs and died 2 to 4 months after onset of the clinical symptoms. With the use of a metagenomic approach that incorporated next-generation sequencing and real-time reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), the presence of a previously unknown bornavirus was detected in a contact squirrel and in brain samples from the three patients. Phylogenetic analyses showed that this virus, tentatively named variegated squirrel 1 bornavirus (VSBV-1), forms a lineage separate from that of the known bornavirus species. (Funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture [Germany] and others.).
authors.affiliation: From the Institute of Diagnostic Virology (B.H., D.H., M.J., B.A., M.B.), Department of Experimental Animal Facilities and Biorisk Management (J.P.T.), and Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases (R.G.U.), Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Arbovirus and Hemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Hamburg (D.T., D.C., J.S.-C.), German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel (D.T., D.C., J.S.-C.), Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Gießen (C.H.), Department of Neurology, Bergmannstrost Hospital (A.B., O.N.), and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Halle (Saale) (T.M.), Halle (Saale), Institute of Neuropathology, Otto-von-Guericke Universität, Magdeburg (C.M.), State Institute for Consumer Protection of Saxony-Anhalt, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Stendal (E.v.d.G.), and Special Service for Veterinarian Affairs and Consumer Protection, Salzlandkreis, Bernburg (Saale) (C.L.) - all in Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tappe
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Höper
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herden
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boldt
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mawrin
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Niederstraßer
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jenckel
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van der Grinten
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lutter
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abendroth
authors.forename: Jens P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Teifke
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cadar
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Chanasit
authors.forename: Rainer G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Ulrich
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D028981:Bornaviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018701:Mononegavirales Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral; D012589:Sciuridae / Q000821:virology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral