Isolation of a New Strain of Cytomegalovirus from Explanted Normal Skin

Forty-three fibroblast cell lines were initiated from normal skin biopsies. One cell line from a patient with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) spontaneously developed c.p.e. suggestive of cytomegalovirus (CMV). Characterization of the virus showed it to be a new strain of CMV and the results suggested that skin fibroblasts from CMT patients may carry latent CMV.