Management of BK-virus infection - Swedish recommendations.

BK-virus (BKV) associated nephropathy (BKVAN) and BKV associated haemorrhagic cystitis (HC) are complications of BKV infection/reactivation in renal and allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients, respectively. The task of how to manage these diseases was given to the chair by the Swedish Reference Group for Antiviral Therapy (RAV). After individual contributions by members of the working group, consensus discussions were held in a meeting on 23 January 2018 arranged by RAV.

Lyssavirus-reactive antibodies in Swedish bats.

Introduction: To study the presence of European bat lyssavirus (EBLV) infections in bat reservoirs in Sweden, active surveillance was performed during the summers from 2008 to 2013.

Material And Methods: Bat specimens were collected at >20 bat colonies in the central, southeastern, and southern parts of Sweden. In total, blood and saliva of 452 bats were examined by a virus neutralization test and by reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCRs).

[New subtype of molluscipoxvirus detected].

Molluscum contagiosum is a viral infection of the epidermis characterized by skin-colored papules or nodules frequently with a central depression. Atypical variants may occur, primarily in immunosuppressed individuals. We here report a case of »giant Molluscum contagiosum« in an immunocompetent child.

Validation of 14-3-3 Protein as a Marker in Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Diagnostic.

At present, the testing of 14-3-3 protein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a standard biomarker test in suspected sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) diagnosis. Increasing 14-3-3 test referrals in CJD reference laboratories in the last years have led to an urgent need to improve established 14-3-3 test methods. The main result of our study was the validation of a commercially available 14-3-3 ELISA next to the commonly used Western blot method as a high-throughput screening test.

Systematic screening of BK virus by real-time PCR prevents BK virus associated nephropathy in renal transplant recipients.

BK virus associated nephropathy occurs in approximately 5% of renal transplant recipients. Quantitation of BKV DNA in serum/plasma early in the course of disease has been suggested to be an important diagnostic tool for polymavirus-associated nephropathy (PVAN). The aim of this study was to develop a BKV real-time PCR (qPCR), which could be included in a diagnostic qPCR platform.

A case of facial cellulitis and necrotizing lymphadenitis due to cowpox virus infection.

We describe a patient with facial cellulitis/erysipelas due to cowpox virus inoculation in the respiratory epithelium of the nose. A cytopathic agent was isolated in cell culture, and the diagnosis of cowpox was confirmed by electron microscopy and polymerase chain reaction. The most likely source of infection was exposure to the family cats.

Quantitative real-time PCR assay for detection of human polyomavirus infection.

The human polyomaviruses BK (BKV) and JC (JCV) affect immunosuppressed patients and are associated with urogenital tract (BKV) and CNS disorders (JCV) and in humans, the pathogenic role of the rhesus monkey virus, Simian virus 40 (SV40), is uncertain. These three viruses have somewhat overlapping tissue pathogenicity and detection of all three polyomaviruses is desirable. A broadly targeted, simple, single tube real-time degenerated quantitative PCR (QPCR) technique for detection of JCV, BKV and SV40 DNA was developed.

Prophylaxis against rabies in children exposed to bats.

Rabies has become a disease of increasing concern. One reason is that bat variant rabies is a more common cause of human disease, with 1-2 deaths per year in the United States. Bat bites are much more difficult to document than bites from larger animals.

[New investigations in suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Analysis of 14-3-3 protein and T-tau in cerebrospinal fluid for safer diagnosis].

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a prion disease characterized by rapid neurodegeneration that leads to the death of the patient within months to a few years. Since the disease is transmissible, there is an obligation in Sweden to report possible CJD cases to the Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control. To make a diagnosis of CJD is difficult, especially early in the course of the disease when the clinical features may be very vague and heterogeneous.

Neutralization assay using a modified vaccinia virus Ankara vector expressing the green fluorescent protein is a high-throughput method to monitor the humoral immune response against vaccinia virus.

Vaccination against smallpox is again considered in order to face a possible bioterrorist threat, but the nature and the level of the immune response needed to protect a person from smallpox after vaccination are not totally understood. Therefore, simple, rapid, and accurate assays to evaluate the immune response to vaccinia virus need to be developed. Neutralization assays are usually considered good predictors of vaccine efficacy and more informative with regard to protection than binding assays.

Identification of a unique BK virus variant in the CNS of a patient with AIDS.

Human polyomavirus BK (BKV; GenBank or EMBL or DDBJ accession no. NC001538) is often reactivated in immunosuppressed patients. Reactivation has been associated primarily with excretion of the virus in the urine, and there have been few reports of renal and/or neurological disease caused by BKV in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).