Abstract
TAZAWA, Y. and NUMAZAKI, Y. Cytomegalovirus Infection in Acute Respiratory Tract Disease Accompaning Hepatitis in Infancy. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1988, 155 (4), 349-354 - To elucidate relationship between acute respiratory tract diseases (ARTD) accompaning hepatitis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in infancy, 74 full-term inpatients with ARTD and 34 control patients without ARTD or hepatitis were subjected to this study. By determining specific antibodies to CMV, IgG early antigen (IgG EA) and IgM membrane antibody (IgM MA) which are markers of active CMV replication, the following results were obtained. Thirty-one (41%) of the 74 patients with ARTD and 12 of the 34 control group (35%) had significant IgG EA (≥1:8). The geometric mean reciprocal titer in the group with ARID (1:33.0) was higher than that in the control group (1:15.3). On the other hand, while 6 of the 74 patients with ARTD (8%) had significant IgM MA (≥1:8), none of the control group had positive IgM MA. Out of the 74 patients with ARTD, 8 (10%) patients, all except one being younger than 2-month-old, also had hepatitis. Of the 8 patients with hepatitis, 6 (75%) had significant IgG EA. The geometric mean reciprocal titer of the patients with hepatitis was higher than that of the patients without hepatitis, the titer being 1:42.6 and 1:30.7, respectively. On the other hand, 3 of the 8 patients with hepatitis (37%) had significant IgM MA while only 3 of the 66 patients without hepatitis (4.5%) had IgM MA. The frequencies of IgM MA between two groups were significantly different (p<0.05). CMV infection may be involved in some infants with ARTD, particularly in younger infants with both of ARTD and hepatitis.
