The Bocavirus...

To the tune of Copacabana

Its name was boca, it was a parvo
No membrane just a shell, a tiny genome n’ there as well
It was found worldwide, but first in Sweden
And while it might yet be a star, its role remains unclear by far

Around a crowded globe, its mode of spread unknown
It was newly found and yet endemic
PCR helped show

Call it boca, the bocavirus
Quite close to a dog and cow virus
Call it boca, the bocavirus
Coughing and sneezing, expiratory wheezing
But the boca, was it a cause?

Its name was boca, and just this year
It was found in blood and stool, but isolation did not ensue
Although with EM, something was seen
And now systemic is where it’s at, PCR alone is falling flat

And so more questions flow, we still have far to go
Most often found with another virus
Co-detections rule!

Call it boca, the bocavirus
Quite close to a dog and cow virus
Call it boca, the bocavirus
Pneumonia and sneezing, expiratory wheezing
But the boca, its everywhere

Its name is boca, it raises questions
But two years later on, no real answers have been found
It is a virus, on that we’re certain
Still reports from far and near, describe detections everywhere

Sequences don’t change much, although two clades show up
We need more trials and more controls
But will that be enough?

Call it boca, the bocavirus
Quite close to a dog and cow virus
Call it boca, the bocavirus
Gastro and sneezing, expiratory wheezing
What does the boca, do to us?

Thanks to Katherine Arden and Cassandra Faux for helping me put these together back in 2007/8.