What is a high level of BK virus?
A high level of BK viruria (≥ 25 million copies/mL) was found in 110 (30.1%) patients. At least 1 blood or biopsy BK test was available for all patients. Blood tests for BKV DNA were available for 361 patients, and 52 (14.4%) were positive.
What is BK virus in urine?
BK virus (BKV) is a ubiquitous polyoma virus, often acquired during childhood with a 80–90% seroprevalence rate among adults. The major sites of BKV appearance are the kidney tubular epithelial cells and urinary bladder surface transitional cells.
How do I get rid of BK virus?
How is a BKV infection treated?
- Medicines may be used to decrease pain, help your immune system, or kill the BK virus.
- Bladder irrigation is done to rinse your bladder and help you pass urine.
- Hyperhydration helps flush your bladder. You may be given liquids to drink or through an IV.
What type of virus is BK virus?
BK virus belongs to the Polyomaviridae, which is able to infect the human. This virus may host in healthy persons. A frequency of 42% is reported for BKV in Chinese immunocompetent individuals (10).
What does the BK virus cause?
The BK virus rarely causes disease but is typically associated with patients who have had a kidney transplant; many people who are infected with this virus are asymptomatic. If symptoms do appear, they tend to be mild: respiratory infection or fever. These are known as primary BK infections.
Is BK virus fatal?
Based on these pathological results and the high sustained BKV viral load in his blood, we reached a diagnosis of BKV pneumonia. Viral infection can occasionally become life threatening among HSCT recipients. It is widely known that BKV can cause late-onset HC, but BKV-associated pneumonia is rare.
How do you treat BK virus in kidney transplant?
Treatment
- The goal in treating BKV infection is to eliminate the virus while preserving renal function and preventing acute or chronic rejection.
- Discontinuation of a single immunosuppression agent, antimetabolite (MMF or azathioprine), upon recognition of viremia has been used successfully to clear viremia (49).
What is a BK infection?
BK Virus: What Transplant Patients Need to Know | National Kidney Foundation.
How common is BK virus in kidney transplant?
BK is a common posttransplant opportunistic viral infection, affecting ∼15% of renal transplant recipients in the first posttransplant year and lacking an effective prophylaxis strategy. Treatment options are limited and if unaddressed, BK nephropathy (BKVN) will progress to allograft failure.
Is BK virus common in kidney transplant patients?
BK virus (BKV) is a common opportunistic pathogen in kidney transplant recipients and one of the most challenging causes of allograft dysfunction and loss.
How does BK virus affect the body?
It can damage your new kidney and cause your body to reject it. How will I know if the BK virus is in my system? Your healthcare provider will check for signs of the virus in your system. They will check both before and after receiving your kidney transplant.
How do you beat BK virus on a kidney transplant?
How does BK virus affect a transplant recipient?
BK virus (BKV) is a member of the polyomavirus family that can cause severe transplant-associated complications. Infection can occur without symptoms and happen early in life. After primary infection, the virus can remain inactive, only to possibly reactivate in immunocompromised individuals such as transplant recipients.
Where does BK virus replicate after primary infection?
After primary infection, the virus establishes latency in the uroepithelium and renal tubular epithelial cells. In the setting of immunosuppression, the virus reactivates and begins to replicate, triggering a cascade of events starting with tubular cell lysis and viruria.
Is the BK virus a cause of renal failure?
BK VIRUS. The BK virus was first isolated from the urine of a renal transplant recipient with ureteric stenosis in 1971 [1], but it was not until 20 years later that BK was recognized as a cause of interstitial nephritis and allograft failure in renal transplant recipients [2, 3].
Which is the breakthrough device for BK virus?
The cobas BKV Test was previously granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the FDA, together with the cobas EBV Test. The cobas BKV Test is a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test with dual-target technology that provides quantitative accuracy and guards against the risk of sequence variations that may be present in the BK virus.