A longitudinal study of the serological and virological status of 18 women infected with cytomegalovirus.

18 women, of known seropositivity, have been followed for between 18 and 66 months (mean 50.2 months) for viral excretion and serological changes. CMV was isolated from 58/146 (39.7 per cent) cultures from various sites, mostly cervix. A total of 129 sera were obtained and each was titrated in the late antigen, early antigen and anti-complement immunofluorescence assays, as well as the complement fixation and microneutralisation tests. From 3 women virus was consistently re-isolated, from 3 others virus was never re-isolated and the remaining 12 women excreted virus intermittently during the period of study. No significant changes in antibody titres could be detected by any of the 5 serological assays in any woman during periods of viral excretion. This suggests that local reactivation of latent CMV infection is not associated with a demonstrable systemic antibody response. Inter-assay correlations were sought for each of the 10 possible combinations of pairs of tests. Significant correlations were found for most pairs of tests, with the notable exception fo those involving the early antigen test. This confirms that antibodies detected in this assay are distinct from those detected by the other 4 serological assays.