Seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus Antibodies in a Group of Bangladeshi Women in Child-Bearing Age: A Pilot Study

Abstract

after primary infection and sporadic recurrence with intermittent viral shedding may last throughout the life an important source of infection [5]. Studies in high-income and middle-income countries revealed that sensorineural hearing loss and neurological damage due to CMV infection is driven by maternal infection that occurs before 14 weeks of pregnancy [6,7]. Majority of the patients are asymptomatic but can cause life-threatening complications in immunocompromised individuals like patients with AIDS and other immune disorders, transplant recipients, individuals admitted to intensive-care units, and to some extent in elderly people [8]. In these patients, high viral loads in the urine are associated with viraemia, dissemination to multiple organs, and end-organ diseases such as pneumonitis, retinitis, hepatitis, or gastroenteritis [9]. Transmission of CMV via blood transfusion and blood component is a matter for concern among blood bank professionals and blood transfusion recipient, particularly in cases of transfusion to neonates and immunocompromised patients.