RESUMO
During the infancy period, exchange transfusion is the main and effective method of cure for hyperbilirubineamia in hemolytic neonates. One of the risks involved in these patients is CMV infection. Since CMV can inflict and kill children with immunodeficiency, we decided to evaluate blood transmitted CMV infection in infants for the first time in Iran. In this prospective study, the levels of IgG and IgM antibody against CMV in infants blood sera before and after exchange transfusion, sera of their mothers, and the plasma of donors were evaluated by ELISA method and conventional kits. The data were then analyzed by nonparameteric and mac nemar test. The level of specific IgM antibody of CMV was 14% in the serum of infants before exchange transfusion and 48% two months after exchange which came out to be significant [p<0.0001]. This indicates transmittability of CMV infection through blood transfusion since the amount of primary infection of CMV in mothers [IgM] was only 1%. According to the high level of CMV infection in infants [14%] compared to mothers [1%], it can be concluded that some mothers have latent CMV infection. On the other hand, the high level of CMV infection in infants [48%] 2 months after transfusion is caused by post-transfusion CMV infection. Analysis of the data obtained from dependent varibles such as volume of transfused blood, number of exchange transfusion attempts, weight, age, sex and blood group analyzed by the nonpara-meteric method indicated that the volume of transfused blood to infants has a direct correlation with the rate of transmission of infection to them but other variables do not have any correlation