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.
Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, Republic of China.
C Y
CY
Shen
W W
WW
Chang
S F
SF
Chang
E S
ES
Huang
C W
CW
Wu
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