Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) is the causative agent of Borna disease, a fatal neurologic disorder of domestic mammals and humans, resulting from spill-over infection from its natural reservoir host, the bicolored white-toothed shrew (Crocidura leucodon). The known BoDV-1-endemic area is remarkably restricted to parts of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. To gain comprehensive data on its occurrence, we analysed diagnostic material from suspected BoDV-1-induced encephalitis cases based on clinical and/or histopathological diagnosis. BoDV-1 infection was confirmed by RT-qPCR in 207 domestic mammals, 28 humans and seven wild shrews. Thereby, this study markedly raises the number of published laboratory-confirmed human BoDV-1 infections and provides a first comprehensive summary. Generation of 136 new BoDV-1 genome sequences from animals and humans facilitated an in-depth phylogeographic analysis, allowing for the definition of risk areas for zoonotic BoDV-1 transmission and facilitating the assessment of geographical infection sources. Consistent with the low mobility of its reservoir host, BoDV-1 sequences showed a remarkable geographic association, with individual phylogenetic clades occupying distinct areas. The closest genetic relatives of most human-derived BoDV-1 sequences were located at distances of less than 40 km, indicating that spill-over transmission from the natural reservoir usually occurs in the patient´s home region.

博尔纳病病毒 1 (BoDV-1) 是博尔纳病的病原体，博尔纳病是一种家养哺乳动物和人类致命的神经系统疾病，由其天然储存宿主双色白齿鼩鼱 ( Crocidura leucodon ) 的溢出感染引起。已知的 BoDV-1 流行区明显限于德国、奥地利、瑞士和列支敦士登的部分地区。为了获得有关其发生的全面数据，我们根据临床和/或组织病理学诊断分析了疑似 BoDV-1 诱发脑炎病例的诊断材料。通过 RT-qPCR 证实 207 只家养哺乳动物、28 只人类和 7 只野生鼩鼱感染了 BoDV-1。因此，这项研究显着增加了已发表的实验室确诊的人类 BoDV-1 感染的数量，并提供了第一个全面的总结。来自动物和人类的 136 个新 BoDV-1 基因组序列的生成促进了深入的系统发育地理学分析，从而可以定义人畜共患 BoDV-1 传播的风险区域并促进地理感染源的评估。与其储存宿主的低流动性一致，BoDV-1 序列显示出显着的地理关联，各个系统发育分支占据不同的区域。大多数人类来源的 BoDV-1 序列的最近遗传亲属的距离都小于 40 公里，这表明天然储存库的溢出传播通常发生在患者的家乡地区。