Survey the seroprevalence of CMV among hemodialysis patients in Urmia, Iran

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) causes infection in immunocompromised, transplant reci­pients and those who received blood transfusion frequently. Risk factors for primary CMV infec­tion are blood transfusion (including clotting factors, etc), recipients of infected transplants, hemo­dialysis and the frequency of dialysis in a week. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibodies in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients who undergo hemodialysis. A cross-sectional study of hemodialysis patients in Urmia, Iran was undertaken in 2007. Sera of 84 Hemodialysis patients were investigated for CMV-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG). Forty-four (52%) patients were males. 65 patients (77.4%) were anti-CMV IgG positive and 6 (7.1%) were anti-CMV IgM positive. There was no relationship between the antibody titer and dialysis duration, or frequency of HD in a week. In conclusion, we recommend that every patient who has undergone hemodialysis receive blood products free of CMV if CMV negative to reduce the incidence and prevalence of CMV among HD patients.