Section of Clinical & Comparative Neuropathology, Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet-Muenchen, Munich, Germany.
Institute of Diagnostic Virology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2023 Feb 4;14(1):624. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36204-w.
'Staggering disease' is a neurological disease entity considered a threat to European domestic cats (Felis catus) for almost five decades. However, its aetiology has remained obscure. Rustrela virus (RusV), a relative of rubella virus, has recently been shown to be associated with encephalitis in a broad range of mammalian hosts. Here, we report the detection of RusV RNA and antigen by metagenomic sequencing, RT-qPCR, in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry in brain tissues of 27 out of 29 cats with non-suppurative meningoencephalomyelitis and clinical signs compatible with'staggering disease' from Sweden, Austria, and Germany, but not in non-affected control cats. Screening of possible reservoir hosts in Sweden revealed RusV infection in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). Our work indicates that RusV is the long-sought cause of feline 'staggering disease'. Given its reported broad host spectrum and considerable geographic range, RusV may be the aetiological agent of neuropathologies in further mammals, possibly even including humans.
“蹒跚病”是一种神经系统疾病实体，近 50 年来一直被认为对欧洲家猫（Felis catus）构成威胁。然而，其病因仍然不清楚。风疹病毒（RusV）是风疹病毒的一种相对物，最近已被证明与广泛的哺乳动物宿主的脑炎有关。在这里，我们报告了在来自瑞典、奥地利和德国的 29 只患有非化脓性脑膜脑炎和与“蹒跚病”临床症状相符的猫的脑组织中，通过宏基因组测序、RT-qPCR、原位杂交和免疫组织化学检测到 RusV RNA 和抗原，而在未受影响的对照猫中则未检测到。在瑞典对可能的储主宿主的筛选显示，木鼠（Apodemus sylvaticus）中存在 RusV 感染。我们的工作表明，RusV 是长期以来寻找的猫“蹒跚病”的病因。鉴于其报道的广泛宿主谱和相当大的地理范围，RusV 可能是其他哺乳动物，甚至包括人类的神经病理学的病因。
