Variants of Human Cytomegalovirus

Abstract

Antigenic variations of human cytomegaloviruses were first detected by cross-neutralization tests. Weller et al. (1960) reacted sera from two babies (named Davis and Esp.) with isolates from themselves, with isolates from each other, and with AD169, an isolate from adenoids (Rowe et al., 1956). The homologous serum—virus pairs produced the highest titer. Serum from Davis did not neutralize the Esp. and AD169 isolates, whereas it neutralized the Davis isolate at a high dilution (Table 8.1). The Davis and AD169 strains were designated types 1 and 2, representing the most diverse strains, and Esp. and Kerr isolates were designated type 3. The Kerr isolate (not shown in the table) appeared to be closely related to the Esp. strains. These type designations have not been generally accepted.