[Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus infection in puerperal women and its impact on their newborns].
BACKGROUND
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.


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.
Estripeaut
D
D
Servicio de Infectología, Hospital del Niño, Panamá. destripeaut@yahoo.com
Moreno
Y
Y
Ahumada Ruiz
S
S
Martínez
A
A
Racine
J D
JD
Sáez-Llorens
X
X
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000097:blood* / Q000151:congenital / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies