SEROEPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS-INFECTION IN A BREEDING POPULATION OF RHESUS MACAQUES

A protein immunoblot (western blot) assay was developed for detection of IgG and IgM antibodies to cytomegalovirus (CMV) in banked serum and was used to study the epidemiology of infection in a breeding populat ion of rhesus macaques. Ah juveniles and adults were antibody-positive to CMV. Repeated samples from 1990-born infants (n = 28) over a 12-mo nth period allowed retrospective assessment of CMV seroconversion. Mos t infants (23 of 25 seroconversions) were apparently exposed to CMV du ring their first year of life. The IgM testing permitted identificatio n of seroconversion time points in eight infants. Risk factors that si gnificantly affected seroconversion probabilities in the study populat ion were not found. Cytomegalovirus-free rhesus macaques are potential ly valuable for viral teratology and pathogenesis research projects; h owever, present epidemiologic findings suggest that establishment of C MV-free colonies will be difficult in conventional settings.