Liver pathology in cytomegalovirus infection associated with hepatitis B virus.

A retrospective study was carried out in 56 patients to establish the association of cytomegalovirus (CMV) with active or inactive hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection as a possible risk factor in the development of severe liver disease. Patients with positive CMV serology and active or inactive HBV infection had elevated alanine aminotransferase activity and had a relatively high incidence of more severe lesions (chronic hepatitis and active cirrhosis). In the absence of CMV, only one case of cirrhosis was identified compared with seven cases of hepatic fibrosis. By analogy with hepatitis C virus, CMV may bring about activation of the host inflammatory response against hepatocytes following HBV infection, resulting in the development of severe hepatitic disease.