Identification of a Novel Polyomavirus from Patients with Acute Respiratory Tract Infections

We report the identification of a novel polyomavirus present in respiratory secretions from human patients with symptoms of acute respiratory tract infection. The virus was initially detected in a nasopharyngeal aspirate from a 3-year-old child from Australia diagnosed with pneumonia. A random library was generated from nucleic acids extracted from the nasopharyngeal aspirate and analyzed by high throughput DNA sequencing. Multiple DNA fragments were cloned that possessed limited homology to known polyomaviruses. We subsequently sequenced the entire virus genome of 5,229 bp, henceforth referred to as WU virus, and found it to have genomic features characteristic of the family Polyomaviridae. The genome was…

• CH
  Children's Hospital Foundation
• RC
  Royal Children's Hospital Foundation
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: AI057160, U54 AI057160, DK02886