title: Congenital and postnatal CMV and EBV acquisition in HIV-infected Zimbabwean infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HIV-infected infants in sub-Saharan Africa have rapid disease progression. We hypothesized that co-infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) or Epstein Barr virus (EBV) increases mortality in HIV-infected infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  257 antiretroviral therapy-naïve HIV-infected Zimbabwean infants were tested for CMV and EBV at 6 weeks of age by real-time PCR; if positive, birth samples were retrieved where available to distinguish congenital and postnatal infection. The impact of co-infection on mortality through 6 months was estimated using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 6 weeks, 203/257 (79%) HIV-infected infants were CMV-positive; 27 (11%) had congenital CMV, 108 (42%) postnatal CMV and 68 (26%) indeterminate timing of infection. By 6 months, 37/108 (34%) infants with postnatal CMV versus 16/54 (30%) CMV-negative infants died (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.1 [95%CI 0.6, 2.2]). At 6 weeks, 33/257 (13%) HIV-infected infants had EBV co-infection; 6 (2%) had congenital EBV, 18 (7%) postnatal EBV and 9 (4%) indeterminate timing of infection. By 6 months, 5/18 (28%) infants with postnatal EBV versus 72/224 (32%) EBV-negative infants died (aHR 0.8 [95%CI 0.3, 2.3]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The vast majority of HIV-infants had acquired CMV by 6 weeks, and EBV co-infection occurred earlier than expected, with one in eight HIV-infected infants positive for EBV by 6 weeks. There was a high prevalence of congenital CMV infection and we identified 6 infants with congenital EBV infection, which has not previously been reported in Africa or in the context of HIV infection. Neither CMV nor EBV co-infection was associated with increased mortality.
authors.affiliation: Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe.
authors.forename: Hlanai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gumbo
authors.affiliation: Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chasekwa
authors.affiliation: Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe; Centre for Paediatrics, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Church
authors.affiliation: Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ntozini
authors.affiliation: Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe.
authors.forename: Kuda
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mutasa
authors.affiliation: Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jean H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Humphrey
authors.affiliation: Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research, Harare, Zimbabwe; Centre for Paediatrics, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States of America.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Prendergast
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D000328:Adult; D060085:Coinfection; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008297:Male; D015030:Zimbabwe