Unstable gait, memory loss then convulsions and progressive loss of consciousness: Borna disease, named after a German city, has killed eight people in the south of the country. What are the symptoms and treatment options for this brain infection?
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The infection recently killed eight people across the Rhine, in patients with unexplained encephalitis, according to a study recently published inThe Lancet Infectious Diseases. Described from the end of the 18th century, the disease was named after a German city near Leipzig. First confined to Europe, the disease has spread since cases have notably been described in the United States, Japan, Iran and Israel.
How is the disease manifested?
The first symptoms in infected patients are severe headache, fever and general confusion. They evolve into signs of brain disease: hyperexcitability, aggressiveness, lethargy, drowsiness, stupor … To then cause convulsions, memory loss and progressive loss of consciousness.
In the most recent cases, the victims’ condition worsened very quickly upon admission to the hospital, the brain swelling rapidly.The infection plunged them into a deep coma before death, between 16 and 57 days after their care, according to the study.
Until then, no treatment identified
By describing Borna’s disease more precisely, we note that it is anon-purulent meningoencephalomyelitis, which mainly affects sheep and horses. And the “reservoir host” of the virus, that is to say the species which contaminates the others, is the two-colored shrew with white teeth, a small rodent close to themouse.
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Only advice from researchers? Often do screening tests if you observe nervous disorders. Thus, scientists will be able to better identify, frame the disease and ultimately find a cure.
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