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Sudden infant death syndrome and Ljungan virus

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Abstract

Ljungan virus (LV) has recently been associated with perinatal death in its natural rodent reservoir and also with developmental disorders of reproduction in laboratory mice. A strong epidemiological association has been found between small rodent abundance in Sweden and the incidence of intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) in humans. LV antigen has been detected in half of the IUFD cases tested. The question was therefore raised whether sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) might be associated with rodent abundance, and whether the virus is present in cases of SIDS. Variation in the incidence of SIDS using the Swedish cause-of-death database tracked the changes in the population fluctuations of native rodents. Formalin-fixed tissues from the brain, heart, and lung were investigated from cases of SIDS, SIDS with lymphocytic infiltration of the myocardium (myocarditis) and myocarditis cases using LV specific immunohistochemistry (IHC). Ljungan virus was detected in the brain, heart, and lung tissue from all three of the patient categories investigated using IHC. These studies suggest that LV may play a prominent role in infant death, and that IUFD and SIDS may have common etiological underpinnings.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the excellent technical assistance of Anne Kawecki.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Apodemus AB, Grevgatan 38, SE-114 53, Stockholm, Sweden

    Bo Niklasson

  2. Department of Medical Cell Biology, Uppsala University, Box 571, SE-751 23, Uppsala, Sweden

    Bo Niklasson

  3. National Board of Forensic Medicine, SE-171 65, Stockholm, Solna, Sweden

    Petra Råsten Almqvist

  4. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Birger Hörnfeldt

  5. School of Public Health, University of California, 50 University Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA

    William Klitz

  6. Public Health Institute, Oakland, CA, 94607-4046, USA

    William Klitz

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  1. Bo Niklasson
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Correspondence to Bo Niklasson.

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Niklasson, B., Almqvist, P.R., Hörnfeldt, B. et al. Sudden infant death syndrome and Ljungan virus. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 5, 274–279 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-009-9086-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-009-9086-8

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