title: Polyomavirus shedding in the stool of healthy adults.
abstract: We recently reported the frequent detection of polyomaviruses (BK virus [BKV] or simian virus 40 [SV40]) in 46% of stool samples from hospitalized children. In order to determine if adults exhibit fecal shedding of polyomavirus, single stool specimens from healthy adults were evaluated by PCR. Overall, 20 (18.2%) of 110 specimens were positive for human polyomaviruses: 9 with BKV, 9 with JC virus (JCV), 1 with SV40, and 1 with both JCV and SV40. Among the 94 subjects without immune compromise, 17 (18.1%) were excreting polyomaviruses. This shedding frequency in adults was significantly lower than that observed in children (P < 0.001). These findings support the hypothesis that the gastrointestinal tract may be a site of polyomavirus persistence, and they suggest a fecal-oral route of viral transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA. jvanch@lsuhsc.edu
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vanchiere
authors.forename: Suhaib
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abudayyeh
authors.forename: Christina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Copeland
authors.forename: Lee B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: David Y
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: Janet S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Butel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002353:Carrier State / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011120:Polyomavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D027601:Polyomavirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D015995:Prevalence; D017201:Virus Shedding; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral