USE OF NESTED POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION F OR RAPID DETECTION OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS IN PERIPHERAL-BLOOD LEUKOCYTES OF PATIENTS AFTER BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

Nested polymerase chain reaction was used for rapid detection of human cytomegalovirus in blood samples of patients subjected to bone-marrow transplantation. Use of the four-primer system appreciably improved t he sensitivity and specificity of the method arid helped eliminate the difficulties arising in the detection of various viral strains with t he minor nucleotide substitutes in the DNA template. The proposed meth od is a reliable tool for the early diagnosis of cytomegaloviral virem ia and for monitoring the efficacy of antiviral therapy.