Real-life experience in a cohort of HSCTR revealed that HCMV DNA can be detected in whole blood and plasma samples during prophylaxis even in the absence of productive viral replication [3]. This is probably related to the different mechanisms of action of LTV, which, by inhibiting the later stages of virion assembly, allow the synthesis of DNA (abortive infection) that can be detected by standard molecular tests in the absence of infectious virus production (DNAemia blips).