BK virus infection in a renal transplant Saudi child

BK human polyomavirus BKV causes an asymptomatic primary infection in children, but later, establishes latency mainly in the urinary tract. Virus-host interactions influencing persistence and pathogenicity are not well-understood. We present here a 12-year-old Saudi boy, who had renal transplant in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSaudi medical journal Vol. 28; no. 1; p. 121
Main Authors Maghrabi, Mohamed, Marwan, Dalia, Osoba, Abimbola O
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Saudi Arabia 01.01.2007
Subjects
BK Virus
Child
Humans
Kidney Transplantation
Male
Polyomavirus Infections - diagnosis
Postoperative Complications - diagnosis
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
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Summary:BK human polyomavirus BKV causes an asymptomatic primary infection in children, but later, establishes latency mainly in the urinary tract. Virus-host interactions influencing persistence and pathogenicity are not well-understood. We present here a 12-year-old Saudi boy, who had renal transplant in Egypt. Seven months later, he was admitted to our Pediatric Nephrology Unit as a case of renal impairment. He developed BKV infection, diagnosed and successfully managed in our hospital. This case demonstrates the expanding clinical importance of BKV in a post renal transplant patient. This virus can be detected in transitional cells in the urine decoy cells using cytology. Testing for BKV deoxyribonucleic acid in urine and blood is an early detection assay, and can be used as a screening test in the early stages. The early reduction of immunosuppression can improve the prognosis. No specific antiviral treatment has been established yet. This is the first report of detecting BK virus in a Saudi post-transplant child in urine and blood specimens by using polymerase chain reaction.
ISSN:0379-5284