JVI Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow An erratum has been published
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bofill-Mas, S.
Right arrow Articles by Girones, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bofill-Mas, S.
Right arrow Articles by Girones, R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Virology, November 2001, p. 10290-10299, Vol. 75, No. 21
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.21.10290-10299.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Potential Transmission of Human Polyomaviruses through the Gastrointestinal Tract after Exposure to Virions or Viral DNA

Sílvia Bofill-Mas,1 Meritxell Formiga-Cruz,1 Pilar Clemente-Casares,1 Francesc Calafell,2 and Rosina Girones1,*

Department of Microbiology, Biology School, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08028,1 and Evolutionary Biology Unit, Health and Life Sciences School, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona 08003,2 Catalonia, Spain

Received 23 May 2001/Accepted 7 August 2001

The mechanism of human-to-human transmission of the polyomaviruses JC virus (JCV) and BK virus (BKV) has not been firmly established with regard to possible human exposure. JCV and BKV have been found in sewage samples from different geographical areas in Europe, Africa, and the United States, with average concentrations of 102 to 103 JCV particles/ml and 101 to 102 BKV particles/ml. Selected polyomavirus-positive sewage samples were further characterized. The JCV and BKV present in these samples were identified by sequencing of the intergenic region (the region found between the T antigen and VP coding regions) of JCV and the VP1 region of BKV. The regulatory region of the JCV and BKV strains found in sewage samples presented archetypal or archetype-like genetic structures, as described for urine samples. The stability (the time required for a 90% reduction in the virus concentration) of the viral particles in sewage at 20°C was estimated to be 26.7 days for JCV and 53.6 days for BKV. The presence of JCV in 50% of the shellfish samples analyzed confirmed the stability of these viral particles in the environment. BKV and JCV particles were also found to be stable at pH 5; however, treatment at a pH lower than 3 resulted in the detection of free viral DNA. Since most humans are infected with JCV and BKV, these data indicate that the ingestion of contaminated water or food could represent a possible portal of entrance of these viruses or polyomavirus DNA into the human population.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, Biology School, University of Barcelona, Ave. Diagonal 645, Barcelona 08028, Catalonia, Spain. Phone: 34 93 402 14 83. Fax: 34 93 411 05 92. E-mail: rosina{at}bio.ub.es.

Journal of Virology, November 2001, p. 10290-10299, Vol. 75, No. 21
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.21.10290-10299.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. Mol. Cell. Biol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev.
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2001 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.