Natural history of postnatal rhesus cytomegalovirus shedding by dams and acquisition by infant rhesus monkeys.

Despite exposure to RhCMV shedding in breast milk and other maternal fluids, postnatal mother-to-child RhCMV transmission appears to be less efficient than that of HCMV. A greater understanding of the determinants of RhCMV transmission and its usefulness as a model of HCMV mucosal acquisition may provide insight into strategies to prevent HCMV infections in humans.