[Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus infection in puerperal women and its impact on their newborns]. / Seroprevalencia de la infección por citomegalovirus en puérperas y su impacto neonatal.

INTRODUCTION: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most frequent etiologic agent associated with perinatal infections. The incidence of this infection is higher in developing countries. The seroprevalence of CMV infection among pregnant women and its impact on newborns have not been studied in Panama and there are a few publications on this health problem in Latin America. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of CMV infection in puerperal women and CMV-related morbidity in the neonates of seropositive mothers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 316 blood samples from puerperal women and 317 urine samples from their newborns were obtained to determine CMV IgG and the polymerase chain reaction CMV test respectively. Risk factors such as parity, socioeconomic status and educational level were analyzed. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of CMV was 84 % and the incidence of congenital CMV infection in the newborns of seropositive women was 0.8 %. Two cases of congenital CMV infection were diagnosed, one of which showed clinical signs at birth, but neither of the newborns showed neurological or audiological sequels in the first 11 months of life. There were no correlations between positive serology and parity, socioeconomic status or educational level in the mothers studied. CONCLUSIONS: Although neither of the newborns diagnosed with congenital CMV infection showed clinical signs at the time of this report, we believe that the incidence of 0.8 % found in this study should be kept in mind with a view to evaluating the possibility of including CMV diagnostic tests in neonatal screening and introducing measures to prevent seronegative mothers from becoming infected.

Seroprevalencia de la infección por citomegalovirus en puérperas y su impacto neonatal / Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus infection in puerperal women and its impact on their newborns

Introducción El citomegalovirus (CMV) es el agente etiológico más común asociado a infección perinatal. La incidencia de esta afección neonatal es más elevada en países con nivel socioeconómico bajo. La seroprevalencia del CMV en las embarazadas panameñas y la incidencia de la infección congénita son desconocidas, son también escasos los informes al respecto publicados en Latinoamérica. Objetivo El objetivo de este estudio es determinar la seroprevalencia de la infección por CMV en puérperas y la potencial morbilidad en los hijos de madres seropositivas. Pacientes y métodos Se tomaron 316 muestras de sangre a mujeres puérperas para determinación de inmunoglobulina G (IgG) para CMV y 317 muestras de orina a sus neonatos para prueba de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR) para CMV. Además se analizaron presuntos factores de riesgo tales como paridad, nivel socioeconómico y nivel educativo. Resultados Se encontró una seroprevalencia de CMV 84 % y una incidencia de 0,8 % de CMV congénito en mujeres seropositivas. Se diagnosticaron 2 casos de infección congénita por CMV, uno de los cuales presentó signos clínicos al nacimiento, pero ninguno de ellos presentó secuelas auditivas o en el neurodesarrollo en sus primeros 11 meses de vida. No se documentó asociación de serología positiva con la paridad, nivel socioeconómico ni educación de la madre. Conclusión Aunque ninguno de los niños diagnosticados con infección congénita por CMV en nuestro estudio presentó secuelas de la misma al momento de este informe, consideramos que la incidencia de infección congénita encontrada de 0,8 % debe ser tomada en cuenta para evaluar la posibilidad de incluir las pruebas diagnósticas para CMV dentro del tamizaje neonatal e implementar medidas educativas para evitar la exposición a posibles fuentes de este virus en madres seronegativas

Introduction Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most frequent etiologic agent associated with perinatal infections. The incidence of this infection is higher in developing countries. The seroprevalence of CMV infection among pregnant women and its impact on newborns have not been studied in Panama and there are a few publications on this health problem in Latin America. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of CMV infection in puerperal women and CMV-related morbidity in the neonates of seropositive mothers. Patients and methods A total of 316 blood samples from puerperal women and 317 urine samples from their newborns were obtained to determine CMV IgG and the polymerase chain reaction CMV test respectively. Risk factors such as parity, socioeconomic status and educational level were analyzed. Results The seroprevalence of CMV was 84 % and the incidence of congenital CMV infection in the newborns of seropositive women was 0.8 %. Two cases of congenital CMV infection were diagnosed, one of which showed clinical signs at birth, but neither of the newborns showed neurological or audiological sequels in the first 11 months of life. There were no correlations between positive serology and parity, socioeconomic status or educational level in the mothers studied. Conclusions Although neither of the newborns diagnosed with congenital CMV infection showed clinical signs at the time of this report, we believe that the incidence of 0.8 % found in this study should be kept in mind with a view to evaluating the possibility of including CMV diagnostic tests in neonatal screening and introducing measures to prevent seronegative mothers from becoming infected