Borna disease virus and schizophrenia in Surinamese immigrants to the Netherlands

Borna disease virus (BDV) has been suggested to play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia. We tested the hypothesis that markers of BDV infection are more frequent in Surinamese immigrants to the Netherlands, diagnosed with schizophrenia, than in Dutch-born healthy subjects. For reasons that are poorly understood there is an increased incidence of schizophrenia in this immigrant group. Blood was obtained from 29 male schizophrenic patients (DSM-IV criteria) and from 26 healthy males. For detection of anti-BDV antibodies an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was performed. A nested, reverse-transcriptase-PCR, using primers specific for the p24 and p40 BDV genes, was used to determine BDV-RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Contrary to our expectations, the frequencies of BDV markers in the group of healthy subjects, as determined by IFA and both PCRs, exceeded that in the group of patients. The results do not support an association between markers of BDV infection in blood and schizophrenia. It is unlikely that the high incidence of schizophrenia in Surinamese immigrants is caused by BDV, but the small number of subjects examined do not warrant definitive conclusions.