Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a previously unknown virus that has been found to affect children.
The virus, called human bocavirus, was identified by the team using a new method for virus discovery on respiratory tract samples drawn from children at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm.

The findings are published in the PNAS ( Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA ).

Respiratory problems caused by infection of the lower respiratory tract are a leading cause of hospitalisation of children.
In about 20 per cent of cases, it is currently impossible to determine the causative agent.

The Swedish team detected the bocavirus in 3 percent of cases of serious lower respiratory tract infection.

“ Viral infections are one of the world’s most serious health problems,” says Tobias Allander. “ They can cause everything from AIDS to the common cold, and they kill thousands of people a day. Despite this, we do not have a full picture of all the viruses that infect humans.”

Allander and colleague Björn Andersson have now developed a method that makes it possible to systematically scan samples for unknown viruses.

“ We believe that the most important aspect of our discovery is that it will enable the discovery of many more viruses, and this may help us solve important medical questions,” says Allander.

Source: Karolinska Institutet, 2005


XagenaMedicine2005