Cytomegalovirus a common cause of intrauterine infection: A case-control study

Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection affects nearly 1% of live births in the United States. Ten percent of these infants have symptoms at birth and another 10 to 15% develop hearing loss or developmental problems. The aim of this study was to compare CMV infection (IgM and IgG) rate in infants suspected for intrauterine infection with the control group. Patients and methods: A case-control study was performed in the Pediatrics Department of Hazrat Rasool Akram Hospital in Tehran. The study population included 74 suspected cases of intrauterine infection (mean age, 4.7±3.7 months) and 65 normal healthy controls (mean age, 5.3±3.1 months). We compared serum CMV antibodies (IgM, IgG) with ELISA kits. Results: Acute and previous immunity to CMV (IgM and IgG) was found in 41.9% (31/74) and 74% (54/74) of cases, respectively. These figures were 6.2% (4/65) and 95.4% (62/65) in controls, respectively. Acute infection (CMV-IgM) was more common among cases (p < 0.0001), but previous immunity (CMV-IgG) was more prevalent among controls (p < 0.001). Conclusion: We concluded that CMV is the most common cause of intrauterine infection in infants aged less than 6 months as compared to the healthy ones. We prefer, at least in our country, to consider seropositive (CMV-IgM) infants suspected of intrauterine infection (less than 6 months) as congenital form. To arrest the natural progression of congenital CMV, we recommend prolonged course of oral analogues of ganciclovir for children with symptomatic congenital CMV.