Age-dependent prevalence of BK virus IgG and IgM antibodies measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

Enzyme immunoassays (ELISA) have been developed for the detection of BK virus IgG- and IgM-antibodies. Specific IgG is detected by an antigen-coated solid phase test; IgM by an antibody capture method. These methods have been used to study the age-distribution of BK virus antibodies in Tromsø county in Northern Norway. The serum panels tested were: 60 sera from paediatric patients aged 0-1 year; 220 sera from healthy persons aged 1-82 years; 74 sera from healthy blood donors; 107 sera from healthy pregnant women. The age-distribution of BKV-IgG antibodies showed that primary infections took place predominantly between the ages of 1 and 6 years, and that there were no sex differences, either in the age-specific prevalence or in the level of BKV-IgG. We found no significant differences in the prevalence of BKV-IgM antibodies in healthy children and adults and pregnant women. BKV-IgM was detected in 26 of the 461 sera tested (5.6%).