Comparison of rapid methods of detection of cytomegalovirus in saliva with virus isolation in tissue culture.

Two rapid methods for the detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in saliva from congenitally and perinatally infected children were assessed by comparison with traditional virus isolation in tissue culture (TC). The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 300-bp segment of the CMV gB gene which was detected in ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels. A centrifugation-enhanced microtiter culture method with a monoclonal antibody for the detection of early-antigen fluorescent foci (DEAFF) was also used. Saliva specimens were collected with mouth swabs from children who were between the ages of 1 month and 14 years and who had either prenatal or perinatal CMV infection. One hundred sixty samples were tested by PCR and TC; 65 (40.6%) were found positive by TC, and 58 (36.8%) were found positive by PCR. Although four samples were found positive by PCR and negative by TC, saliva from seronegative and seropositive TC-negative adults were never found positive by PCR. One hundred fifty-two samples were tested by DEAFF and TC; 64 (42.1%) were found positive by TC, and 58 (38.2%) were found positive by DEAFF. With TC results as a standard, the sensitivity and specificity of DEAFF were, respectively, 90.6 and 97.7%. Because of the greater ease of collecting saliva than urine from newborns, both of these rapid methods merit evaluation in screening for congenital infection.