Cytomegalovirus isolation from healthy homosexual men

The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has focused renewed interest on cytomegalovirus (CMV) both as an infectious complication of the syndrome and as a potential etiologic agent in the pathogenesis of the immunosuppression. We studied 30 healthy homosexual men in New York City to determine the prevalence of virus excretion and its relationship to CMV-IgM antibodies and to T-lymphocyte subsets. Cytomegalovirus was detected in the urine and/or semen of 11 subjects. Eight of 11 CMV shedders were CMV-IgM positive, but CMV IgM was found in only one of 19 not shedding the virus. While homosexuals as a group had lower OKT4/OKT8 ratios (0.8 +/- 0.4, mean +/- SD) than heterosexual controls (1.8 +/- 0.4, mean +/- SD), there was no significant difference in ratios between homosexuals excreting virus and those not excreting virus. Cytomegalovirus excretion by homosexual men seems to be more prevalent than previously appreciated and may pose a significant risk for sexual transmission.