Cytomegalovirus is a member of the herpes family of viruses. This is one of the more benign viruses of the group and is only known to cause disease in severely immunocompromised individuals. The presence of cytomegalovirus in the body subsequent to infection will cause a response from the immune system with the creation of antibodies called immunoglobins. It is the test for cytomegalovirus antibodies that is used to check in assays for the presence of an infection. The cytomegalovirus antibody is tested on a specific immunoglobin called IgM and this has to be cross-referenced with the cytomegalovirus antibody Igg.
The test for CMV infection using an antibody assay is important in a couple of situations – for pregnant women and health care workers, and for immunocompromised individuals. This is because of the possibility of virus reactivation and disease. The cytomegalovirus infection is asymptomatic in most people but in susceptible individuals it can cause the mumps, infectious mononucleosis, and other glandular infections. If the infection is acquired in childhood, it will usually resolve with a mild bout of fever, and an infection is highly improbable after that. However, this does not mean that the virus is eradicated from the body. Like all herpes viruses, CMV has the ability to remain in a state of suspended animation in the body until a trigger activates it again. Many reactivations of the virus don’t present with symptoms and the virus will reactivate, shed, and then go back into suspended animation, remaining with the host till the death of the host.
The test for CMV is done using various assays and because of the large size of the virus, even through culture samples; however, the antibodies test using ELISA assay is the one that tests for the presence of IgM. IgM showing a positive report will only state that the antibody is roaming within the body and not that there is an active infection underway. This is confirmed by testing for IgG.
There is absolutely no preparation that is required for this test. There might be some concerns as the test may throw a false result if you have rheumatoid arthritis. In large part, there is very little chance that the test will give erroneous results because it is very specific in its test for the virus. Care should be taken to inform your doctor if you are on any kind of blood thinning drugs.