Polyomaviridae is a family of
viruses. Mammals and birds serve as natural hosts. There are currently 13 species in this family, contained within a single
genus,
Polyomavirus, whose
type species is
Simian virus 40. Not all members of the family infect humans, but among those that do, several are associated with human disease:
JC virus with
progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy,
BK virus with mild respiratory infection, and
Merkel cell virus with
Merkel cell cancer. Some members of the family are potentially
oncogenic (
tumor-causing); they often persist as latent infections in a host without causing disease, but may produce tumors in a host of a different species, or a host with an ineffective
immune system. The name
polyoma refers to the viruses' ability to produce multiple (poly-) tumors (-oma).