Discovery of a Novel Human Polyomavirus in Acute Diarrheal Samples from Children

By unbiased deep sequencing, we identified a novel, highly divergent polyomavirus, provisionally named MX polyomavirus (MXPyV), in stool samples from children. From Mexico, 12 samples (out of 96) were positive for MxPyV by MXPyV-specific PCR. We used the ViroChip microarray and PCR to screen these 12 samples for co-infection with common diarrheal viruses. Six of 12 MxPyV-positive diarrheal samples tested negative by the ViroChip and PCR, and the other 6 samples were positive for at least one known diarrheal virus. The ViroChip microarray (version 5.0, Viro5AG-60K platform, GPL15905) was used to screen RNA extracts from MX polyomavirus (MXPyV)-positive pediatric diarrheal samples from Mexico for common diarrheal viruses.