Persistence of high titre antibodies to the early antigens of cytomegalovirus in pregnant women.

Serial serum samples were obtained from 45 pregnant women who had been shown to possess complement fixing (CF) antibodies to cytomegalovirus (CMV) during a previous pregnancy. The serial samples were tested for antibodies against the early antigens (EA) and complement fixing antigens of CMV. All of the 45 women still possessed CF antibodies at the commencement of their next pregnancy. Six of the 45 women (13 per cent) lacked detectable IFA-EA antibodies whilst 19/45 (42 per cent) women possessed only low titres (less than or equal to 64) of these antibodies. However, 20/45 (44 per cent) women possessed high titre (greater than or equal to 128) antibodies despite having experienced their primary CMV infection many months previously. It is concluded that antibodies to the EA OF CMV are not as transitory as has been suggested and that their presence, even at high titre, in a serum sample from a pregnant woman cannot be taken as presumptive evidence of recent primary infection with this virus.