Occurrence of IgM antibodies against BK and JC polyomaviruses during pregnancy

Abstract

In a serological survey of 430 pregnant women 45 had high or rising titres of BK-virus haemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies. The presence of BK-virus-specific IgM was confirmed in 10 of these women. No BK-virus-specific IgM was detected in the samples of cord blood from the babies born to these women. The sera from 40 women known to be excreting inclusion-bearing cells during pregnancy were tested for the presence of BK-virus and JC-virus-specific IgM and IgG. The presence of BK-virus-specific IgM was confirmed in three cases and JC-virus-specific IgM in seven cases. Specific IgM persisted for several months in some pregnant women. No Bk-virus-specific IgM was detected in any of the samples of cord blood from the babies born to these women with evidence of polyomavirus infection. No JC-virus-specific IgM was detected in 36 out of 37 of the cord bloods; however, in one it is possible that minute amounts of JC-virus-specific IgM were present.