The first documented case of Polyomavirus BK infection in a patient subjected to living-donor kidney transplant dates back to 1971. BKV is a ubiquitous virus, which infects young individuals and mainly becomes latent in kidneys and also other organs such as lungs, liver and stomach. About 90% of adults have BKV antibodies.

BKV reactivates in immunosuppressive conditions (HIV, transplants or congenital immunodepression) fostered by the increasingly frequent use of the new biological immunosuppressants. Therapy suspension stops the infection. The virus is transmitted orally, as well as by organ transplantation, blood and other biological fluids. Lymphocytes carry the virus through the blood circulation.

The BK virus is mainly responsible for hemorrhagic cystitis and kidney diseases, and has acquired particular importance in the pathogenesis of post-transplant nephropathy which is an emerging cause of transplanted kidney loss affecting between 1 and 10% of patients. The reactivation of BK virus infection in kidney transplant patients can be observed in 10-68% of the cases and is boosted by the increasingly frequent use of the new biologic immunosuppressants.

Thus, from a clinical-diagnostic viewpoint, monitoring the viral load levels is important because, above a certain threshold, they can lead to kidney disease and the subsequent loss of the transplanted organ.

In case of reactivation, the virus can be found in urine and blood in association with hemorrhagic cystitis in bone-marrow transplants, with interstitial nephritis and tubulointerstitial stenosis in kidney transplants, which can lead to organ rejection. Screening and monitoring BK virus replication, which is a sign of its reactivation, is therefore useful in the post-transplant period for an early diagnosis of the risk of rejection. Transitory viremia and/or viruria do not seem to compromise organ function.

Euro RT-BKV - cod. 9153 – Real Time PCR Test for the quantitative determination of the polyomaviruses BK DNA.
The kit contains a 5 standard calibration that allows simultaneous quantification of both viral target and internal control (human ß –globin). This feature allows to calculate the percentage of infected cells in the tissue samples (biopsy) .

Analytical Sensitivity - LOD – 1 couple/µl
Dynamic Range - da 1.5 x106 a 1 x100 couple/µl
Diagnostic Sensitivity - 100%
Diagnostic Specificity - > 99.5%