Cytomegalovirus seroprevalence among solid organ donors in Hungary: correlations with age, gender, and blood group

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is endemic throughout the world, affecting most of the population, but the seroprevalence of CMV is known to vary among countries. CMV causes a mild infection in persons with intact immunity; however, CMV infection in organ transplantation is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The present retrospective study was designed to evaluate the age-, gender-, and blood group-adjusted CMV seroprevalence among solid organ donors, representing fairly the overall Hungarian population (according to Hungarian Central Statistic Institute). This information is important for calculating risk-factors for CMV-seronegative recipients. No nationwide estimates of CMV seroprevalence in Hungary (as a representative of Eastern Middle Europe) have been published yet.

We investigated 2070 organ donors for CMV seroprevalence by measuring the CMV-specific immunoglobulin G. The donors were divided into 3 age groups (2-20, 21-50, and 51-70 years old). A study was also conducted on a fourth group consisting of 200 residents from an old age home. CMV seroprevalence differences were searched according to age-, gender- and blood-group distribution.

The CMV seroprevalence of organ donors is 85% and of all investigated persons is 86%. The age-specific prevalence increases, starting from 72% in the first group to 99% in the fourth group. Seroprevalence of females was found to be significantly higher than of males (P=.0001).

We have shown that the overall CMV seroprevalence in the Hungarian population is moderately high at 86%. The opportunity for CMV-seronegative recipients to get a graft from a seronegative donor is statistically only 2%. The seroprevalence of the youngest age group is 72% and so it can be concluded that the Hungarian population acquires the infection mainly in childhood or in the early adulthood. Female gender is a risk factor for CMV infection. This fact must be taken into consideration during the planning of patients' follow-up, prophylaxis, and therapy.