A serosurvey of Borna disease virus infection in wild rats by a capture ELISA

For a serological diagnostic test for Borna disease (BD), we developed a ca pture ELISA with specificity and sensitivity based on detection of antibodi es against BD virus (BDV) p40 protein. Using our capture ELISA system, the antibody response of rats inoculated intracerebrally with BDV at 4 weeks af ter birth showed a sharp increase from 1 to 4 weeks postinoculation (p.i.) and a steady level after 5 weeks p.i. To investigate prevalence of BDV infe ction among wild rats, we examined sera of Rattus norvegicus in Kami-iso to wn, Oshima district, Hokkaido, suggesting that rats in this area had not be en infected by BDV.