ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinical application value of throat swab nested PCR for detecting active congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in neonates.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The throat swabs and umbilical cord blood specimens from 51 neonates were collected for nested PCR assay for HCMV glycoprotein B (gB) gene. Moreover, 18 of them were subjected to a pp65 antigen test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The sensitivity and specificity of throat swab nested PCR for HCMV gB gene were 67% and 75%, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 57% and 82%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Throat swab nested PCR assay for HCMV gB gene is non-invasive, rapid, and highly sensitive for HCMV detection and holds promise as an excellent screening technology for detecting active congenital HCMV infection in neonates.</p>