Hi Saad,

If you wouldn’t be against zillion of data on dioxin-like xenobiotics as the major worldwide environmental factors bio-accumulating in humans and affecting body metabolic pathways, you might find a direct answer to your question regarding prevalence of Cytomegalovirus antibodies in our article published in the “Organohalogen Compounds”, volume 70, pp. 1471-1475 (2008). The title of the paper: “CURRENT HUMAN BODY BURDEN OF DIOXINS MIGHT UPREGULATE DRE-CONTAINING CYTOMEGALOVIRUS LINKED TO INFLAMMATION AND MALIGNANCY PATHWAYS”. By J. Wu, I. Shur and I. Tsyrlov. ABSTRACT: The low picomolar TCDD concentration has been shown to cause over-replication of cancer-associated viruses in infected human cells, exemplified here in cytomegalovirus-infected human macrophage cell line. Presumably, TCDD at body burden level might augment replication of viruses by triggering the TCDD-AhR-Arnt transcription complex binding to DREs revealed in promoter regions of cytomegalovirus and other human common viruses. Natural and synthetic antagonists of the Ah-receptor are suggested as a universal tool for prevention and treatment of progressive inflammation and malignization driven by DRE-containing human viruses. 

If needed clarifications for research and citation, please be in touch.

Best wishes,

Ilya

Hello Saad,

Since CMV antibodies are found in the majority of humans, it is important to separate active infections versus previous exposure.  If you are looking at antibodies it could be problematic, once exposed the duration of antibodies in the human might vary with the potential to be reexposed to another challenge of CMV. Thus punctuating CMV seropositivity with environmental data is likely dubious. This is compounded by the fact that active infections occur more frequently in imminicompromised individuals, thus individual level factors could also confound the association between environmental factors and exposure. However if you studied seroconversion in children, you might find that they convert early when introduced to children in daycare or schools (virus factories), where during winter months or rainy months the children spend more time inside and are more likely to become infected for the first time (like measles). 

Nevertheless, this is an interesting topic and I think it couldn't hurt to investigate. Let us know what you find!

Alex

As it is a leucotrophic virus, I would also consider the level of immune system substrates (such as zinc, or vitamin D) that can modulate the levels of immunoglobulin. For instance, we could wonder if the sun exposure is having an impact on the antibodies level, and on the CMV replication. But talking about prevalence, I am afraid that once you are exposed (during childhood most of the time), you will have those antibodies whatever happens.

Thank you very much for you all Léo Boussamet Thomas Weppelmann Ilya B. Tsyrlov