Cytomegalovirus infection: detection of cytomegalovirus

Detection of particles of the virus in the patient's blood with PCR is used to diagnose cytomegalovirus infection and control the effectiveness of antiviral treatment. In contrast to serological methods of diagnosis of cytomegalovirus infection, in which antibodies to cytomegalovirus are detected, PCR allows to detect the presence of a cytomegalovirus directly and quantitatively express its concentration in serum. The detection of cytomegalovirus is of great importance in the diagnosis of perinatal pathology.

 Intrauterine and perinatal transmission of cytomegalovirus can have serious consequences. Cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy often occurs in subclinical form and is accompanied by relatively unexpressed symptoms. PCR in such cases allows to reveal the etiologic factor of the disease. The material for the study can serve as urine sediment cells (newborns), epithelium of the cervical canal of sick women, amniotic fluid, scrapings from the conjunctiva of the eye and urogenital tract, saliva, punctate liver.