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Background and purpose: Borna disease virus (BDV) is a unique RNA virus with wide range of hosts. There are many similarities in behavioral disorders caused by BDV in animals and certain mental disorders in human which suggests possible etiology of these disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between BDV and etiopathogenesis of psychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia and its prevalence in this group of patients. Material and methods: RNA was extracted from blood cell of 30 patients with schizophrenia and 15 healthy volunteers. It was screened for a 391-nucleotide, highly conserved region of the p24 and 447-nucleotideregion of the p40 of BDV, using specific primers and nested RT-PCR. Results: The mean age of the patients and controls were 36.03 ± 11.28 and 31.86 ± 10.61 years, respectively. BDV RNA was detected in eight patients with schizophrenia, while none of the healthy subjects was found infected with BDV. The prevalence of BDV virus was significantly higher in people with schizophrenia (26.66%) compared to that of the control group (P< 0.05). Conclusion: This study supports previous findings regarding the relationship between BDV and psychiatric disorders, especially schizophrenia. Therefore, this virus could be considered as an environmental factor that can increase the risk of mental illnesses in adults.

Keywords: Borna disease virus, schizophrenia, Nested RT–PCR

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