Early acquisition of cytomegalovirus infection in kibbutz children in comparison with urban and Bedouin children in southern Israel.

Prevalence of antibody to human cytomegalovirus (CMV) was determined in healthy children aged 1 to 13 years in Beer Sheva, in the Negev region in Israel. Kibbutz children showed a significantly higher rate of CMV seropositivity by the second year of life than did urban Jewish and Bedouin children. Kibbutz children live in close contact from the sixth week of life under high standards of hygiene and good socioeconomic conditions. Among children living in urban populations, as significantly higher prevalence of CMV seropositivity by the second year of life was associated with crowding, but not with other socioeconomic indicators (place of residence, country of origin, educational level of parents). A marked rise of CMV seropositivity with age was found in urban Jewish children in the 2- to 5-year age-group, during which time they attend nurseries, and in Bedouin children in the 6- to 9-year age-group, when they first attend school. These data suggest that close contact is of major importance in CMV infection in childhood.