Association of zoonotic Ljungan virus with intrauterine fetal deaths

• BACKGROUND: It has recently been shown that Ljungan virus (LV) is associated with disease in its wild rodent reservoir. In addition, it has been demonstrated that LV causes malformations and perinatal death in a mouse model. The question was therefore raised whether LV is a zoonotic agent in humans. METHODS: Population fluctuations of native rodents in Sweden were compared to the incidence of intrauterine fetal deaths (IUFDs) using the Swedish national hospitalization database. Formalin-fixed tissues from cases of IUFD were investigated using LV-specific immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Variation in the incidence of IU-FDs closely tracked the fluctuations in native rodent populations. LV was detected in the brain tissue in 4 of 10 cases of IUFDs investigated by immunochemistry. LV was also detected in the placenta in 5 of the 10 IUFD cases, but in none of 20 placentas from normal pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS: LV may play an important role in IUFDs.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Animals

Arvicolinae/virology

Brain/virology

Case-Control Studies

Disease Models; Animal

Female

Fetal Death/*etiology

Humans

Immunoenzyme Techniques

Infant; Newborn

Male

Parechovirus/*pathogenicity

Picornaviridae Infections/*complications

Placenta/virology

Pregnancy

Pregnancy Complications; Infectious/epidemiology/*etiology

Pregnancy Outcome

Rodent Diseases/epidemiology/etiology

Sweden/epidemiology

MEDICINE

MEDICIN

Biology

Biologi

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)