Seroprevalence and risk factors for cytomegalovirus infection among pregnant women in southern Niger
Authors:
ELIKWU Charles
Publication Type: Journal article
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Abstract
Objective: Vertically transmitted cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of preventable congenital infection, including deafness and intellectual impairment worldwide. Till date, there is no consensus on routine antenatal screening worldwide. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of previous and primary CMV infection among antenatal women at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and the effect of age, socioeconomic class, parity and gestational age on prevalence.
Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, blood samples were collected from each of 200 consecutive pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of the university. Samples were analyzed for CMV specific IgG and IgM using ELISA test kits. A semi-structured researcher administered questionnaire was used to obtain socio-demographic information which included; age, socioeconomic class, parity and gestational age.
Results: Seroprevalence of CMV- specific IgG and IgM were 92% and 4% respectively, while 4% were seronegative. There was no significant association between seroprevalence and any of the risk factors (p>0.05).
Conclusion: There is need for voluntary screening of pregnant women as part of antenatal care to detect primary and seronegative susceptible women.
J Microbiol Infect Dis 2013; 3(3): 123-127