title: Kinetics of IgG antibody to cytomegalovirus (CMV) after birth and seroprevalence of anti-CMV IgG in Chinese children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is 90-100% in developing countries; however, the kinetics of anti-CMV IgG in infants remains elusive.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sera from 112 mother-newborn pairs and longitudinal samples from 41 infants up to 2-year old were tested for anti-CMV IgG and IgM. Additionally, samples from 837 healthy children were included.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 112 mothers, 108 (96.4%) were anti-CMV IgG positive; their 108 newborns were also seropositive. In a 2-year follow-up among 40 infants of positive mothers, anti-CMV IgG level in 8 individuals decreased with time and became undetectable by age of 3.5-8 months, and that in 32 others decreased at 1- and 3.5-month old, and then increased. Based on the positive IgM, rising IgG levels, and low anti-CMV IgG avidity index, 76.7% of the primary infections were demonstrated to occur during 1-3.5 months of age. The overall seroprevalence of anti-CMV in 837 children was 82.4%, which was generally constant from 2 to 8 years old (χ2 = 3.150, p = 0.790).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The maternally acquired anti-CMV IgG in infants disappears before 8-month old. Primary CMV infection in Chinese children mostly occurs during 1-3.5 months of age. Whether the relatively lower seroprevalence of anti-CMV in Chinese children found in this survey may reflect the positive rate in child-bearing age women in the future remains to be further studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lingqing
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Meiling
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Tianying
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Yi-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yali
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D036801:Parturition; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M