Cytomegalovirus transmission in special-care centers for mentally retarded children.
This study aimed to determine whether special-care centers for mentally retarded children are high-risk settings for cytomegalovirus (CMV) transmission. Serum and urine specimens obtained from 311 mentally retarded children aged 3 to 12 in three centers were compared for CMV seropositivity and CMV viruria with specimens from 360 normal children of the same ages. A seropositivity rate of 73.5% and a viruria rate of 8.7% were found among the children attending special-care centers. These rates were significantly higher than the 59.2% seropositivity and 1.7% viruria found among normal children. By logistic regression analysis, it was shown that the prevalence of CMV viruria in the class/center was one of the most important determinants for acquiring CMV infection. The data suggest that acquisition of CMV from playmates or classmates occurs frequently in special-care centers and that horizontal transmission of virus is the most plausible explanation for the higher prevalence of CMV infection among mentally retarded children.
Shen
C Y
CY
Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Chang
W W
WW
Chang
S F
SF
Huang
E S
ES
Wu
C W
CW
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000652:urine; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000150:complications*; D016015:Logistic Models; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G