Open AccessOccurrence of the European Subgroup of Subtype I BK Polyomavirus in Japanese-Americans Suggests Transmission outside the Family
Author(s) -
Yoshiaki Yogo,
Sen Zhong,
Makoto Suzuki,
Ayako Shibuya,
Tadaichi Kitamura
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.617
H-Index - 292
eISSN - 1070-6321
pISSN - 0022-538X
DOI - 10.1128/jvi.01018-07
Subject(s) - biology , transmission (telecommunications) , polyomavirus infections , virology , subgroup analysis , genetics , bk virus , medicine , meta analysis , kidney , kidney transplantation , electrical engineering , engineering
To examine the mode of transmission of BK polyomavirus (BKV), urine samples were collected from Japanese-Americans in Los Angeles and from other southern Californians. Subtype I was the main subtype found in samples from both groups. The subtype I subgroup Ib-2, which is predominant in Europe, was the primary subgroup detected in second-generation Japanese-Americans and in southern Californians; however, the Ic subgroup prevalent in native Japanese was rare in these populations. Since the European subgroup (Ib-2) predominated in the studied geographic area, the findings demonstrate that transmission outside the family is common in the spread of BKV, unlike previous findings for JC polyomavirus.