Abstract
Carbone, K. M. (ed.). Borna Disease Virus and Its Role in Neurobehavioral Disease, 233 pp. American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Press, Washington, DC, 2002. $99.95. ISBN 1-55581-235-X.
Borna disease (BD) acquired its name at the end of the 19th century from a town in the eastern part of Germany when the equine members of a cavalry regiment succumbed to nonsuppurative polioencephalomyelitis. Borna disease virus (BDV) infection has now been recognized worldwide, and its host range probably includes all warm-blooded animals. Research on BD and its etiological agent, BDV, a non-cytolytic, neurotropic, negative-strand RNA virus whose relatives include Ebola, Sendai, and rabies viruses, has recently intensified owing to the possible but controversial involvement of BDV in human mental disorders, to the previously unrecognized wide distribution and host range of this virus, to the often asymptomatic and persistent infection of the central nervous system in many hosts (perhaps including people), and to the fast and unnerving worldwide emergence of new viral diseases. Considering the above, surprisingly little is known about this disease. For instance, BDV vectors, reservoirs, or mode of transmission are not known (although it is suspected that transmission occurs through the olfactory neuroepithelium and nerve).
In this context, this book, a collection of reviews by international experts on BDV, is welcome. Even though it is intended primarily for virologists, any pathologist interested in neuropathology will find it useful because it contains an abundant source of up-to-date material and insofar as one is prepared to be deprived of high-quality microphotographs (with the exception of six color plates).
Three of the six chapters are of particular interest: Laboratory Diagnosis, a cautionary tale about the diagnostic use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcrip-tase–PCR (that could be extended to any infectious disease); Epidemiology and Infection of Natural Hosts; and a chapter on experimental infections and pathogenesis, which contains the only color plates and best microphotographs of the book.
The end result for this type of book relies heavily on a rigorous editing process. This is not the major strength here, as shown by a fair number of repetitions and overlaps (both between and within chapters). Overall, I recommend this book to any pathologist interested in neuropathology, in emerging diseases, and perhaps in controversy in science. Indeed, research on BDV may be on the edge of revolutionizing the established paradigms in the etiology of human mental health disorders. On the contrary, however (and as likely), the widespread detection of BDV antigens and nucleic acids in animal and human brains could be largely artifactual because of cross-reactivity of antibodies or contamination of samples.