[Significance of cytomegalovirus in blood donation]

The subjects of the present study are diagnostic and epidemiologic aspects in the determination of serum antibodies to cytomegalovirus in blood donors, organ donors, dialysis patients and drug addicts (some of whom were HIV-positive); antibodies were determined using the ELA-Test (CMV-IgG ELA and CMV-IgM-ELA). 221 sera were additionally assayed using the CMV total AB EIA which has been used in the Frankfurt blood center since May 1985 for CMV antibody screening of blood donors: both enzyme immunoassays showed the same results in 214 sera (96.8%), which shows a high rate of correlation (requiv = 0.99, p less than 0.001). The groups were found to be CMV antibody positive as follows: blood donors 65/102 (63.7%), organ donors 10/13 (76.9%), dialysis patients 88/106 (83.0%), drug addicts 131/227 (57.7%), and HIV-antibody-positive drug addicts 17/31 (54.8%). There was a significant statistical difference between blood donors and dialysis patients (p less than 0.01); the difference between blood donors and drug addicts was also statistically significant when age was considered (p less than 0.001). There was no statistical significance in the distinction between HIV-negative and HIV-positive drug addicts. IgM-specific antibodies were found in 1/102 (0.98%) blood donors, 18/106 (17.0%) dialysis patients and 3/227 (1.3%) drug addicts, whereas in organ donors no IgM-specific antibodies were determined. The seropositivity rate of a Frankfurt group of regular blood donors (n = 1826) was 55.5%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)