[Borna disease virus. An etiological agent in neuropsychiatric diseases?]

Borna disease virus has long been recognized as a cause of sporadic cases and epidemics of meningoencephalomyelitis in horses and sheep in southern parts of Germany. however, sero-epidemiological surveillances indicate that Borna disease virus has a global distribution in horses, without the recognition of clinical manifestations associated with the infection, in other parts of the world. During the past five years evidence has been presented suggesting that humans also can become infected with this virus or a closely related virus. A significantly increased sero-prevalence is seen in patient populations with a variety of neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders, suggesting that Borna disease virus or a closely related virus may play an etiological role in some of these diseases. A review of the literature is given.