Are things getting worse or are we just now discovering how bad they were? One of the most difficult parts of analyzing apparent trends in the incidence of BK viremia is attributing it to the proper source. I in particular am now looking at the specific times after which new immunosuppressive agents began to be used more regularly and seeing if the graphed incidence rates I have compiled thus far show any significant changes at or around those times. One thing that may, however, be a confounding variable for the overall trend is the many advances we have made in virus detection over the past three decades. This could potentially mean that many graft losses in the past may have misattributed to causes other than BK viremia simply due to the uncertainty then found in detection techniques. The main way to detect polyomaviruses in general is the Urinary EM, to check for the BK virus specifically, however, Polymerase Chain Reactions are used. This is a not a new process (being first done successfully in 1983), but like with most things we’ve polished and and refined it, slowly eliminating as much room for error as possible. Due to the time it took to figure out the optimal incubator times, temperatures and which ions disrupt the process (Mn2+) initial results had a greater risk for error than those we get now.  As a result, I have one more thing to account for when to research this week in order to ensure that my data is meaningful. (Image is of 1 BK Virus)