Incidence and Risk of Cytomegalovirus Infection during Pregnancy in an Urban Area of Northern Italy

Abstract

The fetal consequences of CMV infection make it one of the most serious infections contracted during pregnancy, but the scientific community is divided over the proposed implementation of preventive screening for anti-CMV antibodies. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and risk of infection during pregnancy in 2817 women who underwent anti-CMV IgG and IgM antibody screening during the period 2005–2007. The prevalence of anti-CMV IgG antibodies was 68.3% (95% CI: 66.6–70.0); the seroconversion rate in the 892 seronegative women was 0.32%; the results of IgG avidity testing revealed an cumulative incidence of 1.4% (95% CI: 0.97–1.83), density incidence of 0.8% (as cases/pregnant woman-trimester) (95% CI: 0.47–1.13), and a risk of infection of 0.5% (95% CI: 0.24–0.76). The screening identified 13 cases of primary infection (84.6% of which occurred in the first trimester of pregnancy). The possibility to identify these cases and consequently to plan appropriate interventions, supports the use of screening during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester when the risk of infection is greater.

Association Between Cytomegalovirus Infection and Bad Obstetric Outcomes in Women from Kirkuk

“…CMV IgG seroprevalence was significantly (X 2 =6.1, P=0.01) lower (89.5%) in women with frequent abortion (3-8) as compared to women (97.4%) non frequent abortion (1)(2). OR confirmed the association between CMV IgG seroprevalence and number of abortion (OR=4.39, P=0.01).…”

“…The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common congenital viral infection worldwide and may be asymptomatic forms (90% of cases) to severe fetal damage and, in rare cases, death due to abortion [1]. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy is far more complex than other infections, due to the ability of the virus to be frequently reactivated during the child bearing age and be transmitted to the fetus inspite of maternal immunity [2].…”

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 gene polymorphism influences the incidence of symptomatic human cytomegalovirus infection after renal transplantation

“…The incidence of HCMV infection in different geographical regions is shown in the world map (Fig. The prevalence of HCMV is 50-85% in the USA [28], 41% in the Netherlands [29], 63.7% in Germany [30], 68.3% in Italy [31] and 57% in both Australia [32] and Canada [33]. The prevalence of HCMV is 50-85% in the USA [28], 41% in the Netherlands [29], 63.7% in Germany [30], 68.3% in Italy [31] and 57% in both Australia [32] and Canada [33].…”

Seroprevalence and Seroconversion Rates of Cytomegalovirus pp65 Antigen and Cord Blood Screening of Pregnant Women in Malatya, Turkey

“…A study by Tookey et al [12] performed in London revealed that HCMV seropositivity varied between different races: The seropositivity rates were 45.9% in white women, 88.2% in Asian women and 77.2% in black women (of African/Caribbean origin). Furthermore, the following international HCMV IgG seropositivity rates have been reported: 51.5% in French women, 68.3% in Italian women, 30.4% in Irish women, 63.5% in American women and 56.8% in Australian women [13][14][15][16][17]. In different regions of Turkey, HCMV seropositivity has been reported to be 84.3%-94.7% [18][19][20].…”