Simian virus 40 (SV40) is a polyomavirus that can infect humans as well as other species and which can become oncogenic when it crosses species. SV40 entered the human population with SV40-contaminated poliovaccine, incubated in rhesus monkey kidney cells, and has been associated with several types of brain tumors and mesothelioma. This systematic literature review examined published literature on SV40 within the last seven years with key search terms and identified 19 studies which satisfied the inclusion criteria out of 195 studies retrieved. Analysis revealed that SV40 is present in populations with poor sanitary conditions post the infected poliovaccine program and can be spread horizontally as well as vertically. It is found in stem cells collected from Wharton’s Jelly intended for human therapeutic use. SV40 has been described as having carcinogenic properties, which has also been explored for practical uses such as immortalization of cell lines for research purposes. Policies are needed for screening of stem cells for human use and future research needs to focus on confirming SV40 as a causative carcinogen and conducting epidemiological studies with proper molecular techniques to detect the virus in tissues.