After several detections of the Borna virus in animals in Bavaria, there is a regional precautionary warning. There is a danger from the pathogen, albeit very small.
In the summer, horses suspected of Borna virus infection and evidence in three hedgehogs were reported to the district veterinary office, the report said. According to Dennis Rubbenstroth of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, a total of six detections of hedgehogs have been recorded nationwide this year, all in Bavaria.
In extremely rare cases, people can become infected with the Borna virus (BoDV-1 – Borna Disease Virus 1), resulting in encephalitis, which is usually fatal. So far, the field shrew (Crocidura leucodon) is the only known carrier of the virus to humans.
Before this year’s cases, only one other case in Germany – also in Bavaria in 2022 – was recorded as a hedgehog. This was also the first case worldwide, which is not surprising as BoDV-1 only occurs in parts of Germany and in individual regions of Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Source: Krone
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