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Volume 12, Number 4—April 2006
Dispatch

Shrews as Reservoir Hosts of Borna Disease Virus

Monika Hilbe*Comments to Author , Romana Herrsche*, Jolanta Kolodziejek†, Norbert Nowotny†‡, Kati Zlinszky*, and Felix Ehrensperger*
Author affiliations: *University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; †University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria; ‡United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

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Table

Summary of immunohistologic and real-time RT-PCR findings*

Case no. Organ Immunohistology Real-time RT-PCR Ct values† p24 and p40 (mean of 2 analyses) Real-time RT-PCR Ct values 18S rRNA (mean value) Calibrated values‡ (virus copies; mean of 2 analyses)
134 Brain p24 positive p24: 14.93 / 17.53 13.34 p24: 271.9
p40 positive p40: 15.87 / 19.35 19.64 p40: 40.87
Heart p24 negative p24: 28.07 / 29.54 p24: 2.866
p40 negative p40: 27.94 / 30.05 p40: 1.749
137 Brain p24 positive p24: 24.00 / 25.04 24.41 p24: 13,246
p40 positive p40: 25.50 / 26.95 p40: 2,218.8
Heart p24 negative p24: 33.88 / 38.07 19.66 p24: 0.0204
p40 negative p40: 33.84 / 35.24 p40: 0.0366
144 Brain p24 positive p24: 16.27 / 17.44 13.98 p24: 216.04
p40 positive p40: 17.09 / 18.88 p40: 46.289
Heart p24 positive p24: 32.32 / 33.92 23.83 p24: 2.8235
p40 positive p40: 31.68 / 35.17 p40: 1.3375

*Histologic findings: no lesions on brain or heart for all 3 cases.
†RT-PCR, reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction; Ct, threshold cycle no.
‡The calibrated values were calculated by using the sum of both normalized Ct-values of Borna disease virus p24 and p40, respectively, and dividing it by the normalized value of the 18s rRNA (5). Each organ was analyzed twice, and the evaluation was performed in duplicate. Please note that the viral load in each animal can be quite variable.

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References
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