Abstract

Human cytomegalovirus(CMV) is the most common cause of congenital infection, which results mainly central nervous system sequelae. CMV infection can cause various diseases such as CMV monoucleosis, hepatitis, and CMV-associated Guillain Barre's syndrome. Also it may constitute a serous problem for immunosuppressed individuals such as recipients of organ transplants and cancer patients. The accurate diagnosis of CMV infection is very important. For the diagnosis of viral disease the serologic tests are usually used. The presence of specific IgM antibodies in serum indicates recent infection and can be used for rapid laboratory diagnosis from a single serum specimen taken early in the illness. Study subjects consisted of 304 blood samples requested for CMV antibody test in Yonsei University Medical Center from August in 1981 to March in 1982. The results are summarized as follows; 1) The seropositive cases for CMV IgM antibody in 304 blood samples were 26(8.5%) by ELISA. 2) The seropositive cases include 14 infants, 7 children, and 5 adults. 3) The clinical conditions of seropositive cases include 8 neurological disorders, 5 liver disorders, 5 renal disorders, 1 lymphoma, and 6 miscellaneous disorders. 4) The titer of CMV IgM antibody in seropositive cases ranged from 1:40 to more than 1:160. The ELISA technique seems to be relatively simple, sensitive and reliable method for serological diagnosis of CMV infection and for screening of the general population.