Diagnostic Tests for Cytomegalovirus
Cytomegalovirus: Diagnostic Tests
The list of diagnostic tests
mentioned in various sources as
used in the diagnosis of Cytomegalovirus
includes:
Home Diagnostic Testing
These home medical tests may be relevant to Cytomegalovirus:
- Home STD Testing
- Sexuality & Libido: Home Testing:
- Liver Health & Hepatitis: Home Testing
Cytomegalovirus Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Tests and diagnosis discussion for Cytomegalovirus:
Other Important STDS, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID (Excerpt)
The
ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test is commonly used to
detect levels of antibodies (disease-fighting proteins of the
immune system) in the blood. A number of other blood tests can
suggest a diagnosis of CMV infection, but no blood test can
reliably diagnose it. Although CMV can be isolated from urine or
other body fluids, it may be excreted months or years after an
infection; therefore, isolation of the virus from these fluids is
not a reliable method of diagnosing recent infection. (Source: excerpt from Other Important STDS, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection: DVRD (Excerpt)
Most infections with CMV are not diagnosed because the virus usually produces few, if any, symptoms and tends
to reactivate intermittently without symptoms. However, persons who have been infected with CMV develop
antibodies to the virus, and these antibodies persist in the body for the lifetime of that individual. A number of
laboratory tests that detect these antibodies to CMV have been developed to determine if infection has occurred
and are widely available from commercial laboratories. In addition, the virus can be cultured from specimens
obtained from urine, throat swabs, and tissue samples to detect active infection. (Source: excerpt from Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection: DVRD)
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection: DVRD (Excerpt)
For best diagnostic results, laboratory tests for CMV antibody should be performed by using paired serum samples.
One blood sample should be taken upon suspicion of CMV, and another one taken within 2 weeks. A virus culture
can be performed at any time the patient is symptomatic.
Laboratory testing for antibody to CMV can be performed to determine if a woman has already had CMV
infection. However, routine laboratory testing of all pregnant women is costly and the need for testing should
therefore be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Serologic Testing
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (or ELISA) is the most commonly available serologic test for measuring
antibody to CMV. The result can be used to determine if acute infection, prior infection, or passively acquired
maternal antibody in an infant is present. Other tests include various fluorescence assays, indirect
hemagglutination, and latex agglutination.
An ELISA technique for CMV-specific IgM is available, but may give false-positive results unless steps are taken
to remove rheumatoid factor or most of the IgG antibody before the serum sample is tested. Because CMV-specific IgM may be produced in low levels in reactivated CMV infection, its presence is not always indicative of
primary infection. Only virus recovered from a target organ, such as the lung, provides unequivocal evidence that
the current illness is caused by acquired CMV infection. If serologic tests detect a positive or high titer of IgG, this
result should not automatically be interpreted to mean that active CMV infection is present. However, if antibody
tests of paired serum samples show a fourfold rise in IgG antibody and a significant level of IgM antibody,
meaning equal to at least 30% of the IgG value, or virus is cultured from a urine or throat specimen, the findings
indicate that an active CMV infection is present. (Source: excerpt from Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection: DVRD)
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