Detection of JC virus in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy but not in CSF samples from patients with herpes simplex encephalitis, enteroviral meningitis, or multiple sclerosis.

JC virus (JCV) DNA was detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) but not in CSF samples from patients with herpes simplex encephalitis, enteroviral meningitis, or multiple sclerosis. This suggests that inflammatory processes in the brain do not necessarily reactivate JCV, which further supports the proposal that the presence of JCV DNA in the CSF is diagnostic for PML.