Seroepidemiology of Cytomegalovirus among Female Students of Kazeroun Islamic Azad University

Abstract

Background & Objectives: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a one the cause of congenital illness and disability, including hearing loss and mental retardation. CMV is a herpesvirus which establishes a persistent life-long infection. Since the prevalence of antibodies against the virus varies in different geographical areas in the world, we decided to identify the seroepidemiology of CMV infection. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted among 360 volunteer asymptomatic healthy female students in Islamic Azad University of Kazeroun. The men age of subjects was 20.8 years. For serological studies five (ml) of blood sample was collected and the serum was isolated by centrifugation. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for determination of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies of CMV. Finally the results were analyzed by statistical methods. Results: Overall, CMV-IgG antibody was positive in 340 persons (94.4%) out of 360 subjects and they have a previous infection. However, Only four persons (1.1 %) were determined to have IgM antibody. Also we couldn’t find any significant difference concerning their fields of study and their residency (p>0.05). Conclusions: With considering the high rat of CMV infection rate in young female, it is suggested to have appropriate preventive programs for women particular in susceptible groups.

Keywords

• Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
• Seroepidemiology
• Students