Estimation of the prevalence of congenital cytomegalovirus infection and maternal seroprevalence in Tucumán

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a causative agent of congenital infection worldwide with great socio-economic
impact, since it produces hearing loss in childhood and neurodevelopmental delay. There are still no proven effective treatments for all patient groups, nor has a safe and effective vaccine been licensed; nor has a consensus been reached  regarding universal screening. The objectives of this work were to estimate the prevalence of congenital CMV infection and  maternal seroprevalence in Tucumán, and to compare if there are differences in the studied variables according to a deficiency  index and type of institution (public or private). METHODS: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted, in which 201  newborn/mother dyads of 8 maternity units were recruited from public and private subsectors. Serum samples were obtained  from the mother and urine from the newborn, and a Data Collection Form was completed. Real-time PCR was used for the  detection of viral genome in urine samples of the newborns and detection of anti-CMV IgG in the serum of the mothers.  RESULTS: An estimated prevalence of congenital CMV infection of 0.5% and a maternal seroprevalence of 96.9% was obtained.  Differences were found according to the deficiency index and type of institution. DISCUSSION: The frequency of congenital infection was low when compared with maternal seroprevalence. Some of the variables studied show greater vulnerability in  the public sector.