ArticleNature communications2023
Mystery of fatal 'staggering disease' unravelled: novel rustrela virus causes severe meningoencephalomyelitis in domestic cats.
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Further characterization of infection mechanisms and transmission dynamics of rustrela virus in rodentThe Journal of general virology · 2026Article
- Borna Disease Virus 1 as Cause of Fatal Meningoencephalomyelitis in Wild Hedgehogs, Germany, 2022-2025.Emerging infectious diseases · 2026Review
- Emerging risk identification in the food chain using text mining-supported monitoring of food safety news: insights from 2022 to 2023.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Spillover infections by rustrela virus, borna disease virus 1 and tick-borne encephalitis virus revealed by retrospective screening of mammalian encephalitis of unknown origin.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
- Newly Discovered Rustrela Virus: Current State of Knowledge About the Etiological Agent of Feline "Staggering Disease".Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
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- Evaluating the potential of anti-dsRNA antibodies as an alternative viral sensing tool in encephalitides of different species.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Evidence of rustrela virus-associated feline staggering disease in Sweden since the 1970s.Acta veterinaria Scandinavica · 2024Article
- Lethal Borna disease virus 1 infections of humans and animals - in-depth molecular epidemiology and phylogeography.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Rustrela Virus in Wild Mountain Lion (Puma concolor) with Staggering Disease, Colorado, USA.Emerging infectious diseases · 2024Article
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- Five Species of Wild Freshwater Sport Fish in Wisconsin, USA, Reveal Highly Diverse Viromes.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Of potential new treatment targets and polythetic approach in meningoencephalitis of unknown origin: a review.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Review
- Severe Neurologic Disease in a Horse Caused by Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus, Austria, 2021.Viruses · 2023Article
- Rustrela Virus-Associated Encephalomyelitis ('Staggering Disease') in Cats from Eastern Austria, 1994-2016.Viruses · 2023Article
- [Viral zoonoses in Germany: a One Health perspective].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2023Review
- Rustrela Virus as Putative Cause of Nonsuppurative Meningoencephalitis in Lions.Emerging infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Potentially Zoonotic Viruses in Wild Rodents, United Arab Emirates, 2019-A Pilot Study.Viruses · 2023Article
- Continuous presence of genetically diverse rustrela virus lineages in yellow-necked field mouse reservoir populations in northeastern Germany.Virus evolution · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
30 authors at 10 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
'Staggering disease' is a neurological disease entity considered a threat to European domestic cats (Felis catus) for almost five decades. However, its aetiology has remained obscure. Rustrela virus (RusV), a relative of rubella virus, has recently been shown to be associated with encephalitis in a broad range of mammalian hosts. Here, we report the detection of RusV RNA and antigen by metagenomic sequencing, RT-qPCR, in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry in brain tissues of 27 out of 29 cats with non-suppurative meningoencephalomyelitis and clinical signs compatible with'staggering disease' from Sweden, Austria, and Germany, but not in non-affected control cats. Screening of possible reservoir hosts in Sweden revealed RusV infection in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus). Our work indicates that RusV is the long-sought cause of feline 'staggering disease'. Given its reported broad host spectrum and considerable geographic range, RusV may be the aetiological agent of neuropathologies in further mammals, possibly even including humans.
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