Wild birds as a possible natural reservoir of Borna disease virus
Open Access
- 1 April 2001
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Epidemiology and Infection
- Vol. 127 (01) , 173-178
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0950268801005702
Abstract
The natural reservoir of Borna disease virus (BDV) is unknown. In this paper, we show that mallards (Anas platyrhyncos) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula) can be subclinically infected carriers of this virus. From faecal samples collected at a bird pond, we were able to amplify fragments of the BDV p24 and p40 genes. Following cloning and sequencing, a phylogenetic analysis revealed that these birds carry strains of BDV closely related to but distinct from the reference strains BDV V and He/80. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed finding of BDV in wild birds.Keywords
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: