Polyomavirus in Saliva of HIV-infected Children, Brazil

To the Editor: Human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) are members of the family Polyomaviridae. Nine distinct PyVs can infect humans: BKPyV, JCPyV, WUPyV, KIPyV, MCPyV, TSPyV, HPyV6, HPyV7, and HPyV9 (1). Primary infections generally occur early in life, are typically subclinical, and are followed by persistence of the virus in the person. Reactivation of infection has been associated with disease in immunocompromised persons (2–6). We detected the excretion of HPyV in the saliva of HIV-infected children and compared this finding with its prevalence in healthy control children to evaluate the possible association between viral infection and the stage of immunodeficiency.