The seroepidemiological study on cytomegalovirus in women of child-bearing age with special reference to pregnancy and maternal-fetal transmission
Chakravarty, A.; Kashyap, B.; Rathi, K.
Indian Journal of Pathology and Microbiology 48(4): 518-521
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0377-4929 PMID: 16366116 Document Number: 592861
We screened 500 women of childbearing age belonging to different socioeconomic class for the presence of IgM antibodies against cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection by ELISA [India; date not given]. Among these were 70 pregnant women, positive for CMV specific IgM antibodies, whose newborns were also tested for the same. IgM positivity was 5.4% (27/500) while 2.2% (11/500) gave equivocal results. There was an increasing trend in IgM positivity with age, decreasing socioeconomic status and increasing parity. Prevalence rate was greater in women from rural as compared to those from urban area. Among the pregnant women in the higher income group, 4 (14.28%) had CMV specific IgM antibodies as compared to 9 (21.43%) from the low income group. Congenital infection occurred more often (14.28 vs 7.14%) in infants in the low income group. Signs and symptoms compatible with acute CMV infection were found in 7.69% (1/13) women and 27.78% (5/18) newborns. Thus, the need for screening and protection against this infection is further emphasized.