Frequent Detection of Polyomaviruses in Stool Samples from Hospitalized Children

Abstract

Infection with BK virus (BKV) generally occurs early during life, but its mode of transmission has not been clearly defined. We tested the hypothesis that polyomavirus shedding in stool may be a source of BKV exposure.METHODS. Pediatric stool and rectal swab samples were tested for the presence of polyomavirus DNA by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that could detect a conserved region in the large T antigen gene of BKV, JC virus (JCV), and simian virus 40 (SV40). The specific viruses detected by this assay were confirmed by DNA sequence analysis of the PCR amplicons.Results. Of 120 samples collected from 99 patients, 54 (45.0%) were positive for polyomavirus DNA. Of the 99 patients, 46 (46.5%) had at least 1 positive sample, with 38 (38.4%) positive for BKV and 8 (8.1%) positive for SV40. JCV was not detected. There was no association between polyomavirus fecal shedding and age, sex, race/ethnicity, immune status, or symptoms of gastrointestinal disease in the children studied. The BKV strains detected displayed polymorphisms in the T antigen sequence.Conclusions. Polyomaviruses are frequently present in stool samples from hospitalized children. These findings suggest that fecal-oral transmission of BKV may play a role in the ubiquity of infection.

Detection of polyomavirus SV40 in tonsils from immunocompetent children

“…The detection of SV40 DNA in tonsil tissue (9.1%) in this study was similar to the seroprevalence of SV40 in hospitalized children (5.9%) in the Houston area . In addition, a recent study of stool samples from 99 children at the same hospital found that 8% and 38% of children excreted polyomavirus SV40 and BKV, respectively (Vanchiere et al, 2005a).…”

“…Sources of transmission for BKV and JCV are thought to be urinary, gastrointestinal, and/or respiratory tracts (Knowles, 2006;Ling et al, 2003;Vanchiere et al, 2005a), but transmission of SV40 remains unknown. Results described here suggest that tonsillar tissue represents a site of infection by SV40, but whether the virus reached the tonsils via blood or an oral or respiratory route is not known.…”

“…Primers PYVfor/PYVrev directed at a conserved sequence in the amino (N)-terminus of the large T-antigen (T-ag) gene of BKV, JCV, and SV40 were used for viral analysis (Bergsagel et al, 1992;Lednicky et al, 1995). Our laboratory has established the use of these primers to detect BKV and JCV in clinical samples (Thomas et al, 2007;Vanchiere et al, 2005aVanchiere et al, , 2005b as well as SV40 (Meneses et al, 2005;Thomas et al, 2007;Vilchez et al, 2002b). Primers TP1Q3/TP1Q5 were used to detect EBV latent membrane protein 2a (LMP2a) gene sequences (Vilchez et al, 2002a).…”

“…BKV, JCV, and SV40 have been detected in a variety of organ systems including urinary, central nervous, and gastrointestinal (Khalili and Stoner, 2001;Major et al, 1992;Vanchiere et al, 2005aVanchiere et al, , 2005b. This suggests that the pathogenesis of these viruses involves dissemination within the host.…”

Source tracking faecal contamination in an urbanised and a rural waterway in the Nelson-Tasman region, New Zealand

“…Unlike most viruses, the human polyomavirus appears to be relatively common among the host population, with approximately 40Á90% of humans carrying mostly asymptotic polyomavirus JCV and/or BKV infections (Agostini et al 1996(Agostini et al , 1997Girones 2006). HPyV is commonly excreted in urine (Arthur et al 1989;Vanchiere et al 2005b;Zhong et al 2007) and less often in faeces (Vanchiere et al 2005a); therefore it was not surprising to find it in all wastewater samples but in relatively fewer faecal samples. High levels of both specificity and sensitivity indicate that the HPyV marker has a strong potential as an effective indicator of human contamination in New Zealand waterways.…”