The Prevalence and Potential Role of Human Cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr Virus and Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus in Pakistani Acute Appendicitis Patients

Abstract

Acute appendicitis is one of the most common cause of abdominal surgeries. It is responsible for approximately 72,000 deaths globally per year. Yet its etiology has still not been elucidated. The study was conducted to verify if the viruses are the etiological agents of acute appendicitis. For this purpose, the incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) was studied in Pakistani acute appendicitis patients. Genomic DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood samples of thirty patients suffering from acute appendicitis who had undergone appendectomies. Qualitative Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were employed to screen DNA samples of acute appendicitis patients for EBV, CMV and MMTV. Thirty age and gender matched peripheral blood samples that had no clinical manifestations related to viral infections were taken as controls. CMV was the most frequently detected virus 13.3% , followed by EBV 10% and least frequently detected was MMTV 3.3%. This indicates that these viruses maybe the etiological agents of acute appendicitis and maybe associated with the pathogenesis of acute appendicitis. To further evaluate and confirm these findings additional studies need to be conducted.