Among 161 individual personnel at Children's Hospital, serum complement fixing antibodies were found more frequently (77%) in those who were in close contact with the patients than (39%) in those with less contact. This difference was most pronounced in the young age group. Most (80%) of the personnel at an age of 30 years or older, were seropositive, The results indicate that young personnel, working in close contact with infants and children in hospital, are at great risk of acquring cytomegalovirus infection. Student nurses, being exposed to these patients only for a few weeks, also were at risk of being infected. Seronegative pregnant women, working in a children's hospital, should therefore take measures to protect themselves from close contact with the patients since virus excretion occurs frequently, even without clinical signs of CMV-infection.

Two blood samples, one in the first and one in the third trimester, were collected from 2014 pregnant women. Serological tests for CMV and rubella antibodies were performed in the paired samples. Seroconversion by the CF test for CMV antibodies was demonstrated in 15 women. However, seroconversion also by the IF test was found in only one of these. A rise in titer during pregnancy by the CF test was found in 16 woman. None of these specimens contained specific IgM. High CMV-CF antibody titer (greater than 128) in the first serum sample was found in 28 women, but none of the sera contained specific IgM. It is concluded that no single serological test can serve at present as a screening test for the diagnosis of CMV infection during pregnancy. In children thought to be at risk contracting congenital CMV infection, no case with CNS malfunction that could be attributed to a congenital CMV infection could be demonstrated at the age of 7-8 years. One case of seroconversion in the examination for rubella antibodies was found. The infant of this mother showed no clinical signs of rubella infection.

Marked lymphocyte responses to PHA, ConA and PWM were demonstrated in the first week of life. Prematurity up to 30 weeks gestational age did not influence the results. There were only small variations in the responses from day to day, no sex differences, and no differences between infants who were small for gestational age of appropriate weight. Newborn infants with high serum IgM-concentrations had reduced lymphocyte responses to ConA, possibly through the influence of ConA on B-lymphocytes. Infants of mothers who had received corticosteroids prior to delivery had lower mean responses to all 3 mitogens, but the differences between the steroid- and comparable non-steroid groups were not significant. The results suggest that newborn infants have functioning cellular immune mechanisms.