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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Establishing Mouse Models for Zika Virus-induced Neurological Disorders Using Intracerebral Injection Strategies: Embryonic, Neonatal, and Adult
Published on: April 26, 2018
Association of zoonotic Ljungan virus with intrauterine fetal deaths
Bo Niklasson1, Annika Samsioe, Nikos Papadogiannakis
1Apodemus AB, Grevgatan 38, Stockholm, Sweden. Bo.Niklasson@Apodemus.se
Background:
It has recently been shown that Ljungan virus (LV) is associated with disease in its wild rodent reservoir. In addition, it has been demonstrated that LV causes malformations and perinatal death in a mouse model. The question was therefore raised whether LV is a zoonotic agent in humans.
Methods:
Population fluctuations of native rodents in Sweden were compared to the incidence of intrauterine fetal deaths (IUFDs) using the Swedish national hospitalization database. Formalin-fixed tissues from cases of IUFD were investigated using LV-specific immunohistochemistry.
Results:
Variation in the incidence of IUFDs closely tracked the fluctuations in native rodent populations. LV was detected in the brain tissue in 4 of 10 cases of IUFDs investigated by immunochemistry. LV was also detected in the placenta in 5 of the 10 IUFD cases, but in none of 20 placentas from normal pregnancies.
Conclusions:
LV may play an important role in IUFDs.
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