Identification of BK virus in a patient with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and bilateral atypical retinitis

Objective: To report the clinical and histopathologic characteristics of BK virus (BKV) retinitis. Design: Case report. The clinical features of bilateral retinitis in a 29-y ear-old homosexual white male with the acquired Design: Testing: immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) included focal,. mottled fundus pigmentation, and haloes, as documented by fundus photography. After death of the patient, the left eye was studied by light microscopic and immunohis tochemical examination. The nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect viral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the right eye and other non ocular tissues. The specificity was then confirmed by restriction enzyme an alysis. Results: The retina of the left eye showed focal necrosis and contained cel ls with intranuclear staining for the BKV VPI protein. In the right eye, BK V DNA was detected in the retina and other tissues by nested PCR. Autopsy s howed that BKV infection was also present in the brain, kidneys, and periph eral blood mononuclear cells. Conclusions: A number of pathogens may cause retinitis in patients with AID S. The authors have shown that BKV should be included among those pathogens and that some clinical features may suggest the presence of BKV retinitis.