[Cytomegaloviral infection in autopsy material using molecular biologic methods]

The results of polymerization chain reaction (PCR) and morphological study are compared. The presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA in the organs of dead children is demonstrated by PCR in 13 of 16 cases. In 3 of 13 cases structural changes typical for CMV infection were absent; slight symptoms of the damage produced by DNA-virus were present in 4 cases. The results indicate that there exist variants of CMV infection with a minimum manifestation of the infectious process. The presence of mutations in the CMV genome was revealed in 6 cases.