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Article: Merkel cell polyomavirus in respiratory tract secretions.(DISPATCHES)(Report)
- Article from:
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
- Article date:
- March 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), associated with Merkel cell carcinoma, was detected in 27 of 635 nasopharyngeal aspirate samples by real-time PCR. MCPyV was more commonly found in adults than in children. Presence in the upper respiratory tract may be a general property of human PyVs.
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Polyomaviruses (PyVs) are highly prevalent, small DNA viruses, capable of persistence in the host. To date, 5 human PyVs have been described: JC (JCPyV), BK (BKPyV), KI (KIPyV), WU (WUPyV), and Merkel cell (MCPyV). The discovery of KIPyV and WUPyV in respiratory tract samples has led to many studies of the role of these viruses in respiratory tract disease ...