WU polyomavirus (WUPyV): A recently detected virus causing respiratory disease?

Abstract

The WU polyomavirus (WUPyV) is a novel member of the family Polyomaviridae recently detected in respiratory tract specimens by shotgun sequencing. Intriguingly, viral genome has been detected in 0.4% to 11.5% of respiratory tract specimens from children with respiratory disease. The levels of co-infection with established respiratory viruses were in the range between 30.8% and 91.7%. Moreover, some studies report detection of WUPyV in stool or serum. So far, WUPyV infections can not be distinguished from other viral infections by means of clinical symptoms. Respiratory tract disease like pneumonia or bronchitis is frequently observed in patients harbouring WUPyV. Detection of viremia suggests systemic infections. However, the available data do not prove WUPyV to be a human pathogen. Further investigations are necessary. © 2009 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.