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The Bornavirus can be transmitted via field shrews (symbol picture)
Photo: Imagesines / Getty Images / iStockphoto
In Saxony-Anhalt, an infection with the Bornavirus was detected in a woman.
Apparently, the 58-year-old has been suffering from symptoms since the end of 2020, as reported by the MDR.
It was the first and so far only known case from Saxony-Anhalt, it was also said in a message from the State Office for Consumer Protection.
Human infections had already occurred across Germany.
The woman from the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district was very seriously ill with headaches, skin bleeding, septic disease and a changed level of consciousness, it said.
She is currently being looked after in a nursing home and is not approachable.
Accordingly, very high Borna IgG antibodies could be detected in the CSF and in the serum at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine.
There was no direct pathogen detection.
Since the district is in an endemic area for Borna Disease Virus 1, defined by known cases in farm animals, the Robert Koch Institute assumes a confirmed diagnosis, according to the announcement.
Borna Disease Virus 1 can be transmitted to humans
According to the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, the "classic" Borna Disease Virus 1 was known as the causative agent of Borna's disease in horses and sheep until a few years ago. In 2015 a new virus was discovered in exotic squirrels, the red squirrel Bornavirus 1. Both Bornaviruses can be transmitted to humans and are therefore considered to be zoonotic pathogens.
Borna Disease Virus 1 can cause severe brain inflammation in humans.
Endemic areas are mainly in the eastern half of Germany, in Bavaria, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt.
Diseases in humans are rare, but the majority of them are fatal.
At the beginning, those affected usually suffer from headaches, fever and a general feeling of illness.
Later on, neurological symptoms such as behavioral problems, speech and gait disorders occur and, in the further course, a coma within days or a few weeks.
There is currently no specific therapy against Bornavirus infections.
Potentially risky contact with the field shrew
According to the RKI, the natural reservoir of Borna Disease Virus 1 is the field shrew.
The viruses are therefore presumably excreted in their saliva, urine and feces.
Humans can likely become infected through direct contact with the shrew or its excrement, as well as through contaminated food, water or inhalation of contaminated dust.
It cannot be ruled out that domestic cats play a role in the transmission to humans.
Human-to-human transmission is unlikely, as is transmission to humans through infected horses, sheep and other pets.
The RKI assumes that around two to six acute Bornavirus infections occur in humans every year in Germany.
According to current knowledge, the greatest likelihood of infection is through contact with shrews or their excretions in risk areas.
According to the current state of knowledge, it must be assumed that such infectious contacts are rare and probably difficult to prevent.
There is some risk of infection from outdoor activities that may result in contact with shrews or their droppings, such as gardening.
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