Strain-specific seroepidemiology and reinfection of cytomegalovirus

Although there have been some reports describing the serostatus of cytomegalovirus, strain-specific antibody responses and their distribution remain unknown. In this study, ELISA using fusion proteins encompassing epitope of glycoprotein H from both AD169 and Towne strains was used to test 352 blood donors. Of these 352 donors, 207 were analyzed for strain-specific glycoprotein H antibodies. Of the 44 donors whose serum contained antibodies against both AD169 and Towne, 27 (60%) were aged 50 years or over (p = 0.0003). This may indicate serological evidence of reinfection with cytomegalovirus in the elder population. The nucleotide sequence analysis of cytomegalovirus glycoprotein H from the peripheral blood of the cytomegalovirus-positive renal transplant recipients showed that our strain-specific ELISA can reveal cytomegalovirus reinfection after transplantation.