Evaluation of T cell immunity against human cytomegalovirus: Impact on patient management and risk assessment of vertical transmission

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the most common infectious agents, infecting the general population at an early age without causing morbidity most of the time. However, on particular occasions, it may represent a serious risk, as active infection is associated with rejection and disease after solid organ transplantation or fetal transmission during pregnancy. Several methods for CMV diagnosis are available on the market, but because infection is so common, careful selection is needed to discriminate primary infection from reactivation. This review focuses on methods based on CMV-specific T cell reactivity to help monitor the consequences of CMV infection/reactivation in specific categories of patients. This review makes an attempt at discussing the pros and cons of the methods available.