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Volume 23, Number 3—March 2017
Dispatch

Variegated Squirrel Bornavirus 1 in Squirrels, Germany and the Netherlands

Kore Schlottau, Maria Jenckel, Judith van den Brand, Christine Fast, Christiane Herden, Dirk Höper, Timo Homeier-Bachmann, Jens Thielebein, Niels Mensing, Bert Diender, Donata Hoffmann, Rainer G. Ulrich, Thomas C. Mettenleiter, Marion Koopmans, Dennis Tappe, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, Chantal B.E.M. Reusken, Martin BeerComments to Author , and Bernd Hoffmann
Author affiliations: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany (K. Schlottau, M. Jenckel, C. Fast, D. Höper, T. Homeier-Bachmann, D. Hoffmann, R.G. Ulrich, T.C. Mettenleiter, M. Beer, B. Hoffmann); Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (J. van den Brand, M. Koopmans, C.B.E.M. Reusken); Justus-Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany (C. Herden); Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany (J. Thielebein); Tierarztpraxis Dr. Niels Mensing, Magdeburg, Germany (N. Mensing); Dierenartspraktijk Diender, Vlissingen, the Netherlands (B. Diender); Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany (D. Tappe, J. Schmidt-Chanasit)

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Table 1

Results of testing for VSBV- in oral swab, blood, and brain samples from squirrels of 4 Sciuridae subfamilies collected in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, 2015*

Subfamily/species
No. positive/no. sampled
Available sample type
SS, B, BM
SS, BM
SS, B
BM, B
SS
BM
Callosciurinae
Callosciurus erythraeus 0/7 0 4 2 1 0 0
Callosciurus prevostii 5/57 5 0 26 11 14 1
Tamiops mcclellandii 0/2 0 0 2 0 0 0
Tamiops swinhoei
0/4
0
0
0
0
4
0
Ratufinae
Ratufa macroura
0/2
0
1
0
0
1
0
Sciurinae
Sciurus aureogaster 0/5 0 0 0 0 5 0
Sciurus carolinensis 0/12 0 0 0 0 0 12
Sciurus granatensis 0/22 0 0 4 0 18 0
Sciurus niger 0/2 0 0 1 0 1 0
Sciurus variegatoides 7†/212 46 0 63 0 103 0
Sciurus vulgaris
0/127
0
2
1
0
62
62
Xerinae
Sciurotamias davidianus 0/9 0 1 2 0 6 0
Tamias sibiricus 0/1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Tamias striatus
0/6
0
1
0
0
5
0
Total 12†/468 51 9 101 12 220 75

** *Swab samples were taken from the oral cavity of each investigated animal. Oral swab samples and, if available, brain samples were tested by RT-qPCR. Blood samples (in EDTA or heparin), wherever available, were tested by quantitative reverse transcription PCR as well as by indirect immunofluorescence assay. B, blood, BM, brain material; SS, swab sample; VSBV-1, variegated squirrel bornavirus 1. †Includes the variegated squirrel in which VSBV-1 was initially discovered (11).

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Page created: February 17, 2017
Page updated: February 17, 2017
Page reviewed: February 17, 2017
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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