Borna disease virus and deficit schizophrenia.

Background: It is controversial whether Borna disease virus (BDV) infects humans and causes psychiatric disorders.

Objectives: The relationship between BDV infection and schizophrenia with deficit syndrome was investigated.

Study Design: Using the Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome, 62 schizophrenic in-patients were selected from three psychiatric hospitals. RNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and analyzed using nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction with primers to detect BDV p24 and p40.

Results And Conclusions: BDV transcripts were not detected in samples from any of the 62 schizophrenic patients. These data do not support an etiologic association between BDV infection and the deficit form of schizophrenia.