Cross-sectional seroepidemiologic study of the prevalence of cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus infection in a Canadian Inuit (Eskimo) community.

The prevalence of antibody to cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) was determined, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques, in a cross-sectional serologic survey of an isolated northern Canadian Inuit (Eskimo) community. The population studied included 155 Inuit and 11 Caucasian residents. By 6 years of age, 80% of the Inuit population were seropositive for CMV and 100% for herpes simplex virus. While only 7/63 Inuit greater than 20 years were seronegative for CMV, 5/11 Caucasian residents were seronegative (p = 0.01). For the Inuit population, no association between seropositivity for CMV and seropositivity for hepatitis A or hepatitis B was observed. This prevalence survey shows a serologic profile for infection with CMV and HSV in this northern Inuit community with an early age of acquisition and high prevalence of infection characteristic of socioeconomically deprived populations throughout the world, and is distinct from that observed in many other North American populations.