Borna disease virus: implications for human neuropsychiatric illness.

The cause of Borna disease, a neurological syndrome affecting mammals and birds, has recently been shown to be infection with an RNA virus. Molecular genetic analysis suggests that Borna disease virus represents a new viral taxon. It has a wide host range and is tropic for specific circuits in the central nervous system. There is indirect evidence that links it to diseases of the human central nervous system.