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Borna Disease Virus 1 as Cause of Fatal Meningoencephalomyelitis in Wild Hedgehogs, Germany, 2022–2025
Effrosyni Michelakaki, Benjamin Schade, Brigitte Boehm, Eva Kappe, Marcel Suchowski, Anne Kupca, Magdalena Schumacher, Anna Maria Gager, Friederike Liesche-Starnecker, Sonja Fiedler, Eva Schwarz, Zoltan Bago, Andreas Blutke, Martin Beer, Dennis Rubbenstroth
1
, and Kaspar Matiasek
1
Author affiliation: Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany (E. Michelakaki, S. Fiedler, E. Schwarz, A. Blutke, K. Matiasek); Bavarian Animal Health Service, Poing, Germany (B. Schade, B. Boehm, E. Kappe); Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleißheim, Germany (M. Suchowski, A. Kupca, M. Schumacher, A.M. Gager); University Medical Center Ulm, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany (F. Liesche-Starnecker); Institute for Veterinary Disease Control, Mödling, Austria (Z. Bago); Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany (M. Beer, D. Rubbenstroth)
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Figure 7

Figure 7. Comparison of 3 diagnostic methods, in the adrenal glands (A–C) and mediastinal nerve branches (D–F) of case 5, a hedgehog from Germany with Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) infection, in study of the virus as cause of fatal meningoencephalomyelitis in wild hedgehogs, Germany, 2022–2025. Diffusely positive chromaffin cells and multifocal positive nerve branches are seen by immunohistochemistry by using BoDV-1 nucleoprotein mouse monoclonal antibody Bo18 (A, D), rabbit anti–BoDV-1 nucleoprotein polyclonal hyperimmune serum #201 (B, E) and RNAscope (Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc., https://acdbio.com) in situ hybridization (C, F). Scale bars: A–C, 250 μm; D–F, 100 μm. Stains: A, B, D, E, 3,3′-diaminobenzidine stain with hematoxylin counterstain; C, F, 2.5 HD assay–RED with hematoxylin counterstain.
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