Abstract
The study was designed to determine whether hemodialysis patients in Taiwan had a different antibody response to common virus infections compared to the normal population. Serum samples from 18 hemodialysis patients and 21 healthy volunteers were obtained every 3 months for 2 years. Geometric mean titers (GMTs) of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), as well as Type A and Type B influenza viruses (Inf. A, Inf. B) were compared between the patient and the control groups. The prevalence rates and the rates of recurrent infection were similar in both groups. However, the patient group had a higher percentage of persons having persistent EBV and CMV infections (p < 0.05) and also higher GMTs of antibodies nearly the whole year round, especially significant in September and December (p < 0.05). In patients with hepatitis C, their GMTs of EBV, VZV, Inf. A, and Inf. B were higher than those without (p < 0.05).
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