title: Detection of cytomegalovirus in urine of hearing-impaired and mentally retarded children by PCR and cell culture.
abstract: This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) excretion in urine among 30 deaf children and 91 mentally retarded children by cell culture and PCR. As a control, urine samples from 121 children without hearing disability or mental retardation were also tested. The study revealed that 15 of 30 (50%) deaf children and 16 of 91 (17.6%) mentally retarded children were excreting CMV in their urine. Among the control group we observed that only 2 of the 121 (1.8%) children were CMV excretors. As CMV excretion in urine is generally considered to indicate a congenital infection, it is very likely that congenital CMV is highly incriminated in mental retardation and deafness among children in Mauritius.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pultoo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jankee
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meetoo
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Pyndiah
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Khittoo
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000151:congenital* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities; D019989:Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D014556:Urine / Q000821:virology*; D014776:Virus Cultivation / Q000379:methods