Detection of cytomegalovirus infection during clinical trials of glycoprotein B vaccine.

Preabsorption of sera with cytomegalovirus (CMV) glycoprotein B (gB) prior to testing for CMV IgG antibody was evaluated for detection of CMV infection during CMV gB vaccine clinical trials. Although, 98.2% of 109 CMV gB vaccine recipients were seropositive with a standard assay, preabsorption of sera with gB reduced their CMV antibody to extremely low levels compared with subjects with CMV infection. One subject who acquired CMV during a vaccine trial was easily identified by gB-absorbed CMV IgG results. The gB-absorbed CMV IgG antibody assay is a promising approach for screening CMV gB vaccine trial participants for CMV infection.