Seroprevalence of human cytomegalovirus antibodies among children with type I diabetes mellitus in the Aseer Region, Southwest KSA

Objectives: this study is aimed at determining the seroprevalence and possible infectivity factors of human cytomegalovirus [HCMV] in children affected by type 1 diabetes mellitus [T1DM] in the Aseer Region of KSA

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Methods: a total of 205 children diagnosed with T1 DM who routinely attended the Diabetic Centre [DC] of Aseer Central Hospital [ACH] in Abha KSA were randomly selected. Another control group of 51 nondiabetic children were also selected. Sera of both groups were tested for HCMV-specific IgG and IgM using an indirect enzyme linked immune-sorbent assay [ELISA]

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Results: the recorded HCMV-IgG seroprevalence rates were found to be higher in both groups of children than the IgM responses, which were consistently low. There were no obvious differences between the two groups in terms of HCMV responses. No significant variations were observed between girls and boys in terms of the seroprevalence rates. The highest positive IgG prevalence rates to HCMV were observed among 11- to 15-year-old children, and the least positive rates were noted in children younger than 5 years of age. Children from Abha city and its vicinity showed relatively higher HCMVspecific IgG and IgM responses rates than children from other localities

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Conclusions: despite the presence of high HCMV-IgG response rates among the studied group of children, this study could not identify the associated clinical manifestations. There is no correlation between T1 DM and virus infectivity, as this research could not find differences in serological responses to the virus between the diabetic and non-diabetic children