Seroprevalence of IgM antibodies against cytomegalovirus (CMV) in HIV patients: Single center study

Introduction: The presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) immunoglobulin M (IgM) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals indicates an active infection or reactivation of the virus. Methodology: This study investigated the seroprevalence of CMV IgM antibodies among HIV-positive individuals attending the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Results: Fifty nine out of 92 participants who were tested with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were positive for CMV IgM, resulting in a prevalence rate of 64.1%. Analysis of sociodemographic variables revealed a statistically significant association between CMV IgM seropositivity, and both gender and residence of the participants. Clinical variables also indicated a significant association between CMV IgM seropositivity and the duration of HIV infection. Multivariate analysis showed that participants in the 18-29 years age group, those with a secondary education level, the unemployed, and those who had been infected with HIV for 1-3 years were most likely to test positive for CMV infection. Joint and muscle pain were the most commonly reported symptoms among participants. Conclusions: The high seroprevalence of CMV IgM antibodies found in this study suggests that CMV infection is widespread in the study area. Therefore, it is essential to regularly screen HIV-positive individuals for CMV during routine antiretroviral therapy visits to enable early detection and improve treatment outcomes.