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Disclaimer: Early release articles are not considered as final versions. Any changes will be reflected in the online version in the month the article is officially released.

Volume 32, Number 5—May 2026

Synopsis

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 Rubbenstroth1Comments to Author , and Kaspar Matiasek1
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)

Main Article

Table

Overview of BoDV-1–infected European hedgehogs included in study of Borna disease virus 1 causing fatal meningoencephalomyelitis in wild hedgehogs, Germany, 2022–2025

Case no. District Rescue center Date found Date died Survival time after admission or disease onset*
1 Rottal-Inn A 2022 Jun 22 2022 Jul 16 24
2 Ebersberg Private 2024 Apr 30 2024 May 5 5
3 Rottal-Inn A 2024 Jul 1 2024 Jul 10 9
4 Ebersberg B 2024 Jun 24 2024 Jul 12 20
5 Rottal-Inn Private 2024 Jun 23 2024 Jul 24 24
6 Ebersberg B 2024 Jun 18 2024 Aug 15 58
7 Rottal-Inn A 2024 Sep 11 2024 Sep 12 1
8 Landsberg am Lech C 2025 Apr 9 2025 Apr 29 5*
9 Eichstätt D 2025 May 14 2025 May 23 9
10 Eichstätt D 2025 May 17 2025 May 23 6
11 Ebersberg E 2025 May 16 2025 Jun 3 18
12 Rosenheim F End of 2024 2025 Jun 7 4*
13 Traunstein F 2025 May 28 2025 Jun 10 13
14 Roth G 2025 Jul 17 2025 Jul 19 2
15 Landsberg am Lech Private 2025 Jul 26 2025 Jul 31 5

*Case 8 was reported to demonstrate first clinical signs on 2025 Apr 24. Case 12 had been submitted to the rehabilitation center already several months earlier and had hibernated there. Case 12 began demonstrating neurologic signs on 2025 Jun 3.

Main Article

1These senior authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: April 02, 2026
Page updated: April 27, 2026
Page reviewed: April 27, 2026
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