Inter- and intra-person cytomegalovirus infection in Malawian families

Abstract

Sequence polymorphisms in the gN and gO genes of cytomegalovirus (CMV) amplified from mouth rinse and urine samples of 19 Malawian patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and 58 of their first-degree relatives were investigated. CMV-DNA was amplified from 41 people (53%) from either the gN or gO region in at least one sample, from 14 people (18%) in both domains in at least one sample, and from 13 (17%) in either domain in both samples. Twenty-one (51%) were seropositive for human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV). Identical gN sequences were recovered from eight families and non-identical sequences in six, while identical gO sequences were found in three families and non-identical sequences in five. Five people, four of whom were children, each carried multitypic gN sequences or gO sequences. The findings are consistent with CMV spread along intra- and extra-household routes, and with multiple intra-host CMV infection.