[CMV antibody determination with two enzyme immunoassays in each case]

In each of the two present studies (Frankfurt blood donor center and blood bank of the university of Hamburg) two commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA) test kits for detecting cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibodies were compared according to their concordance. In the Frankfurt study, 448 sera of blood donors and patients were tested for IgG- and IgM-specific antibodies by CMV-ELA Test (Medac); IgG-specific antibodies were tested in 3 serum dilutions (1:10, 1:100, 1:1000) of each sample, 221 sera were additionally assayed using the EIA of ABBOTT. Both methods showed the same results in 214/221 (96.8%) sera (p less than 0.001). The determination of CMV-IgG-specific antibody levels were as follows: Out of 294 seropositive individuals, titers greater than or equal to 1:1000 were seen in 81% (238). IgM antibodies to CMV were determined in 22/448 serum specimen, which all had IgG antibodies too; there were 18/22 (81.8%) samples with elevated titers for CMV-IgG (greater than or equal to 1:1000). In the second study, 500 sera of blood donors from Hamburg were tested for CMV-IgG antibodies by two enzyme immunoassays, CMV-IgG-ELA (Medac) and Anti-CMV-IgG-ELISA (Biotest). The results were concordant in 418 (83.6%) of the 500 samples (p less than 0.01). All EIA procedures were found to be convenient test methods for CMV antibody screening and the results showed significant correlations. Furthermore, the determination of CMV-IgG-specific antibodies seems to be sufficient for routine CMV screening in blood donor centers.