Early acquisition of cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus antibody in several isolated Melanesian populations.

Significant differences among diverse human populations have been found in the seroepidemiology of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The present report documents a very high rate of early acquisition of antibody to CMV and EBV among three remote populations living in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the New Hebrides, respectively. These three genetically distinct populations, living in widely different ecologies and social settings, each had the same pattern of early acquisition of infection with both viruses. It is suggested that spread of CMV and EBV is determined by patterns of interpersonal contact as well as by the prevalence of virus-shedders. The large number of handlers of each infant in these studied groups appears directly related to the early acquisition of these viruses.