Lymphocyte responses to human cytomagalovirus in different groups of patients in Britain and in adults from West Africa and the Middle East

Antibody prevalence and lymphocyte proliferation responses to cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) were compared in several different groups of patients : genitourinary medical (GUM) patients, hemophiliacs, men with clinical acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cases of primary CMV mononucleosis, and also in adults in the general population (control subjects) comprising separate groups native to Britain, West Africa, and the Middle East. Among the British control subjects who were positive for CMV IgG, all were also positive against CMV antigen by the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT). However, among those who were CMV IgG-positive in the various groups of patients, 20-86.9% gave positive responses to CMV antigen by the LTT ; moreover, 75.7% and 55.5% of the CMV IgG-positive healthy control subjects from West Africa and the Middle East, respectively, gave positive LTT responses to CMV antigen. When the same groups of patients were tested for responsiveness to HSV antigen by the LTT, there was good agreement between a positive result by this test and by serology in all except those with primary CMV mononucleosis (42.8%). Overall, lymphocyte responses to CMV were significantly impaired in healthy, CMV antibody-positive subjects from West Africa and the Middle East compared to similar subjects from Britain.