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Volume 23, Number 3—March 2017
Dispatch

Variegated Squirrel Bornavirus 1 in Squirrels, Germany and the Netherlands

Kore Schlottau, Maria Jenckel, Judith van den Brand, Christine Fast, Christiane Herden, Dirk Höper, Timo Homeier-Bachmann, Jens Thielebein, Niels Mensing, Bert Diender, Donata Hoffmann, Rainer G. Ulrich, Thomas C. Mettenleiter, Marion Koopmans, Dennis Tappe, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, Chantal B.E.M. Reusken, Martin BeerComments to Author , and Bernd Hoffmann
Author affiliations: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany (K. Schlottau, M. Jenckel, C. Fast, D. Höper, T. Homeier-Bachmann, D. Hoffmann, R.G. Ulrich, T.C. Mettenleiter, M. Beer, B. Hoffmann); Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (J. van den Brand, M. Koopmans, C.B.E.M. Reusken); Justus-Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany (C. Herden); Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany (J. Thielebein); Tierarztpraxis Dr. Niels Mensing, Magdeburg, Germany (N. Mensing); Dierenartspraktijk Diender, Vlissingen, the Netherlands (B. Diender); Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany (D. Tappe, J. Schmidt-Chanasit)

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Table 1

Results of testing for VSBV- in oral swab, blood, and brain samples from squirrels of 4 Sciuridae subfamilies collected in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, 2015*

Subfamily/species
 No. positive/no. sampled
 Available sample type
SS, B, BM
 SS, BM
 SS, B
 BM, B
 SS
 BM
Callosciurinae
Callosciurus erythraeus 0/7 0 4 2 1 0 0
Callosciurus prevostii 5/57 5 0 26 11 14 1
Tamiops mcclellandii 0/2 0 0 2 0 0 0
Tamiops swinhoei
 0/4
 0
 0
 0
 0
 4
 0
Ratufinae
Ratufa macroura
 0/2
 0
 1
 0
 0
 1
 0
Sciurinae
Sciurus aureogaster 0/5 0 0 0 0 5 0
Sciurus carolinensis 0/12 0 0 0 0 0 12
Sciurus granatensis 0/22 0 0 4 0 18 0
Sciurus niger 0/2 0 0 1 0 1 0
Sciurus variegatoides 7†/212 46 0 63 0 103 0
Sciurus vulgaris
 0/127
 0
 2
 1
 0
 62
 62
Xerinae
Sciurotamias davidianus 0/9 0 1 2 0 6 0
Tamias sibiricus 0/1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Tamias striatus
 0/6
 0
 1
 0
 0
 5
 0
Total 12†/468 51 9 101 12 220 75

** *Swab samples were taken from the oral cavity of each investigated animal. Oral swab samples and, if available, brain samples were tested by RT-qPCR. Blood samples (in EDTA or heparin), wherever available, were tested by quantitative reverse transcription PCR as well as by indirect immunofluorescence assay. B, blood, BM, brain material; SS, swab sample; VSBV-1, variegated squirrel bornavirus 1. †Includes the variegated squirrel in which VSBV-1 was initially discovered (11).

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Page created: February 17, 2017
Page updated: February 17, 2017
Page reviewed: February 17, 2017
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