We titrated human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA in urine specimens obtained from 14 healthy individuals and a renal transplant patient with HCMV pneumonitis by modifying the method for titration of varicella-zoster virus DNA previously described (1, 2) . Of 14 HCMV seropositive healthy individuals, 13 had HCMV DNA under the detection limit of 10
2.0 copies/ml, whereas one person had 10
2.0 copies/ml. The viral DNA in urine samples was at a low level in healthy individuals with latent infection. In a case with HCMV pneumonitis after renal transplantation, the amount of HCMV DNA in urine gradually in creased from the level under 10
2.0 copies/ml and reached a peak of 10
4.7 copies/ml one month prior to the manifestation of pneumonitis. It, thereafter, decreased with the course of clinical remission, and finally settled at under 10
2.0 copies/ml. Serial titrations of HCMV DNA in urine specimens proved to be useful in identifying recipients at risk of developing active HCMV infection after renal transplantation and as a guide for treatment of patients.
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