You're likely infected with a brain-eating virus you've never heard of
5 hours ago
- #neurological disease
- #JC virus
- #PML
- The JC virus (human polyomavirus 2) infects up to 90% of people, remaining dormant in cells for life.
- If activated, the JC virus can cause progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a brain-destroying disease.
- PML leads to demyelination, causing symptoms like speech impairments, visual defects, and seizures.
- PML was rare until the 1980s when it became prevalent in HIV/AIDS patients, often fatal before HAART treatment.
- JC virus spreads via fecal-oral route, with initial infection typically asymptomatic and lifelong.