Vingelsjuka är en dödlig sjukdom som drabbar katter och ger symtom från nervsystemet så som beteendeförändringar och ataxi framför allt i bakbenen. Orsaken bakom Vingelsjuka visades 1995 av svenska forskare vara bornavirus. Bornasjuka är i Centraleuropa endemiskt hos häst och får och har varit så i flera hundra år, det första fallet av Vingelsjuka på katt beskrevs 1974 i Nordisk Veterinärmedicin. Det finns fortfarande mycket okunskap angående Vingelsjuka, till exempel smittväg, inkubationstid och påverkan på immunförsvaret. Flera studier har gjorts för att hitta en eventuell reservoar och de som framstått som kandidater är bland annat sorkar och fåglar.

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a virus with capability to cause neurological disease in several species of mammals and of ostriches. Also humans are suspected to be susceptible to the virus, as the viral RNA and antibodies against BDV have been found in some humans with psychiatric diseases, like schizophrenia and depression. In Sweden there is a disease called staggering disease in cats, associated to BDV-infection. This disease often has a fatal progress. Definite diagnosis is reached by histo-pathological and immunohistochemical examination of the central nervous system.

A method for intra vitam detection of bornaviral infection and diagnosis of bornaviral dis-ease in the cat is currently lacking. The aim of this work was to explore the possibility of using the proximity ligation assay (PLA), with its capacity of recognizing femtomolar con-centrations of a protein, as a method for detection of the minute quantities of antigen and antibodies that are present in the tissues and body fluids of a bornaviraly infected cat. For this purpose reliable comparative assays, in the form of an ELISA and an IFA, had to be established. When this proved impossible within the time frame of the project, the aim of the study had to be abandoned, further underscoring the need for improved means of detec-tion of bornaviral antibodies and antigen..