The BK virus is a member of the polyomavirus family. Past infection with the BK virus is widespread, but significant consequences of infection are uncommon, with the exception of the immunocompromised and the immunosuppressed. BK virus is an abbreviation of the name of the first patient, from whom the virus was isolated in 1971 (the patient was then 29 years old). Signs and symptoms The BK virus rarely causes disease but is typically associated with patients who have had a kidney transplant; many people who are infected with this virus are asymptomatic. If symptoms do appear, they tend to be mild: respiratory infection or fever. These are known as primary BK infections. Although without any clinical symptoms, footprints of BK virus have been detected in specimens from females affected by spontaneous abortion. Serum antibodies against BK virus have also been found in spontaneous abortion affected women as well as in women who underwent voluntary interruption of pregnancy. The virus then disseminates to the kidneys and urinary tract where it persists for the life of the individual. It is thought that up to 80% of the population contains a latent form of this virus, which remains latent until the body undergoes some form of immunosuppression. Typically, this is in the setting of kidney transplantation or multi-organ transplantation. Presentation in these immunocompromised individuals is much more severe. Clinical manifestations include renal dysfunction (seen by a progressive rise in serum creatinine), and an abnormal urinalysis revealing renal tubular cells and inflammatory cells. Cause Transmission It is not known how this virus is transmitted, except that it spreads from person to person, and not from an animal source. It has been suggested that this virus may be transmitted through respiratory fluids or urine, since infected individuals periodically excrete virus in the urine. A survey of 400 healthy blood donors was reported as showing that 82% were positive for IgG against BK virus. Risk factors In some renal transplant patients, the necessary use of immunosuppressive drugs has the side-effect of allowing the virus to replicate within the graft, a disease called BK nephropathy. From 1–10% of renal transplant patients progress to BK virus associated nephropathy (BKVAN) and up to 80% of these patients lose their grafts. The onset of nephritis can occur as early as several days post-transplant to as late as 5 years. It is also associated with ureteral stenosis and interstitial nephritis. In