In Middle Franconia, a person was infected with the very rare but life-threatening Borna virus. The case occurred in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, as the district office in Weißenburg announced on Tuesday.
The health department and veterinary office are intensively involved in clarifying a possible route of infection and are in close contact with the experts from the State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL). The authority did not provide any further information about the infected person.
The Borna virus (BoDV-1 – Borna Disease Virus 1) is said to occur in the field shrew and, according to current research, can be transmitted through contact with the animal and its feces. The exact route of transmission is not yet known.
So far there have only been around 50 cases of Bornavirus in humans nationwide. In 2018, the virus was identified for the first time as the cause of severe brain inflammation in humans. According to the LGL, the viral infection is severe. According to LGL, with the exception of four cases of the disease, in which the infected survived, some of them with the most severe secondary damage, all known BoDV-1 infections in humans were fatal.
To protect yourself from infection, the LGL advises that you generally avoid contact with shrews and their excrement. Places where people could come into contact with shrews include road embankments, stone walls, hedges and generally sheds and other parts of buildings accessible to small wild animals.