A very rare infection with the Borna virus has been detected in Bavaria. A person from the Mühldorf am Inn district was affected, the district office announced on Tuesday. At first there was no further information. The disease, which is usually fatal, only occurs in a few isolated cases in humans in Germany.
Two other Borna virus infections had become known in the district in the past three years. The so-called classic Borna virus triggers brain inflammation, which ends fatally in almost all cases. Survivors usually retain the most severe consequential damage. On average, two infections are reported in Germany each year. However, scientists assume that the number of unreported cases is higher – with up to six cases per year.
According to the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL), seven infections were known throughout Germany in 2021, five of them in Bavaria.
The only known host of the pathogen is the field shrew, in which the infection does not cause any severe symptoms. The animals excrete the virus in urine, feces and saliva. Other mammals can become infected via this.
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