Human Cytomegalovirus

Abstract

This chapter emphasizes the fundamental characteristics and clinical importance of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and focuses on the laboratory tests that can be used to identify the virus and to monitor and predict disease and susceptibility to antiviral therapy, and on the philosophy behind the interpretation and reporting of test results in various defined patient populations. Molecular and immunologic techniques, including whole‐genome sequencing directly from clinical specimens, have been used to study variation among CMV strains. CMV infections are common and usually asymptomatic in otherwise healthy children and adults; however, the incidence and spectrum of disease in newborns and in immunocompromised hosts establish this virus as an important human pathogen. Histopathologic testing, antigenemia assays, and qualitative and quantitative molecular methods have been routinely used for the direct detection of CMV from clinical samples. In the immunocompromised host, the use of direct detection methods to diagnose CMV disease is most beneficial for patient care.