Role of cytomegalovirus in inducing congenital anomalies

Sixty eight infants and newborns were included in the present study being consisted of 55 cases with congenital anomalies and 13 cases of apparently healthy infants acting as controls. Three types of congenital anomaly cases were studied; 17 cases of microcephaly, 17 cases of cerebral palsy and 21 cases with jaundice. All serum samples were tested for cytomegalovirus IgM antibodies (CMV IgM) by microassay ELISA technique to explore the role of CMV infection in inducing congenital anomalies. Six out of the 68 serum samples were found to be positive for CMV IgM. Four of them were detected among the congenital cases (5 our to 55; 7.3%), while 2 cases were among the controls (2 out of 13; 15.4%). The microcephalic group showed 5.9% positivity (one out of 17). The jaundiced infants showed 14.3% positivity (3 out of 21), while all the cerebral palsy cases were negative for CMV IgM. Such a high percentage of CMV IgM in the control group may be attributed to asymptomatic infection, with liability for long term sequelae, particularly hearing loss or ocular abnormalities by 2 years of age. So, continuous follow-up of such asymptomatic cases is essential to control any possible congenital abnormality as early as possible.