The age and sex distribution of complement-fixing antibodies was studied in a sample of 1294 sera from adults and children of S. Paulo city, Brazil. The incidence of 33% by 15 years of age, with a maximum of 70% reached in the older age group (> 35 years), support the findings in other countries. An analysis of sera in terms of sex showed no significant differences in the distribution of complement-fixing antibodies to CMV. A comparative age distribution of CMV complement-fixing and neutralizing antibodies in a sample of 236 sera, using the AD 169 strain, confirmed the high correlation between these types of antibodies, being the per cent of positive sera consistently higher for neutralizing antibodies.
Cytomegalovirus infections; Serological study; Complement-fixing antibodies
