Virology

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

JC virus

Medicine

Virus

Journal of Molecular Virology and Immunology

Immunosuppressive medications are the mainstay treatment of many severe cutaneous diseases.The objective of this study was to investigate the reactivation of certain viral agents (Epstein-Barr virus, human cytomegalovirus, BK virus, JC virus, B19 virus, and herpes simplex virus) in dermatology patients who underwent immunosuppressive treatment.The study included 57 patients and they were divided into three groups based on the treatments; patients not receiving any immunosuppressive therapy (control group), patients treated with phototherapy only (phototherapy group), and patients treated with systemic immunosuppressive agents (systemic immunosuppressive therapy group).Saliva, blood, and urine samples were collected from all patients, and these samples were analyzed for the presence of virus-specific DNA by TaqMan-based real-time polymerase chain reaction.In the overall study population, the positivity rate for any viral reactivation in at least one of the investigated specimens was 31.6% (18/57).The frequencies of viral reactivation in the control, phototherapy, and systemic immunosuppressive treatment groups were 9.5%(2/21), 18.8% (3/16), and 65.0% (13/20), respectively.The viral reactivation rate in patients receiving systemic immunosuppressive treatments was significantly higher than in the other two groups (p=0.00022 and p=0.00544), but there was no statistically significant difference between the phototherapy and control groups.EBV (15 patients, 26.3%) and JC virus (7 patients, 12.3%) were the most frequently detected viruses.Viral reactivation is a potential risk for dermatology patients receiving immunosuppressive treatments and it can be considered as a parameter of disease control and management.Our study results also reveal that the safety profile of phototherapy is not different from the control group in terms of viral reactivation.

Epstein-Barr virus and JC virus Reactivation in Dermatological Patients Receiving Immunosuppressive Therapy