Seroepidemiolgy of Cytomegalovirus in Taejon, Korea, in 1966

Lee, Kyung Yil

Abstract

PURPOSE: The prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) depends mainly on socioeconomic status. It is well noted that the prevalence of hepatitis A which is a representive agent of the fecal-oral route has changed since the last 10-20 years. In order to evaluate the time of primary CMV infection in childhood and to get help for interpretating the patterns of infection and prevention, we studied the seroepidemiology of CMV in Taejon, Korea.
METHODS
We measured IgG anti-CMV antibody by microparticle enzyme immunoassay (CMV IgG, Abbott) from 375 individuals from neonates (cord blood) to people over 30-years old.
RESULTS
The prevalence of anti-CMV IgG in neonate was 86.4%, 83.1% in 1-6 months, 84.4% in 7-12 months, 82.6% in 13-18 months, 84.2% in 19-24 months, 86.7% in 2-3 years, 80.0% in 4-6 years, 82.8% in 7-8 years, 80.0% in 10-12 years, 100% in 13-15 years, 100% in 16-19 years, 100% in 20-29 years and 100% over 30 years. In order to evaluate the critical time of CMV infection with the consideration of transfered anti-CMV from mother, analyzed the prevalence of anti-CMV IgG of 131 children aged from 1 month to 24 months with 2-month intervals, and compared the results to that of anti-hepatitis A IgG. The positive rate of anti-CMV IgG is significantly higher than that of anti-HAV IgG from 8 months of age.
CONCLUSION
This study showed that most CMV infections in chidren in Taejon, Korea were established within 12 months after birth. It also suggested that the perinatal infection plays an important role in CMV infection.