Neonatal CMV-infection. What can we do to prevent it?

• Pavel A. Kuznetsov

Abstract

Сytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most prevalent cause of congenital infection. Moreover, CMV is the main infectious cause of fetal malformations with the incidence rate of 0,5–2% and the main nongenetic cause of sensorineural hearing loss. Nowadays we don’t screen all pregnant women for CMV. The reasons are: asymptomatic primary infection in the majority of cases and the doubt in the presence of effective preventive measures. The results of the meta-analyses published in the April of 2023 showed that valacyclovir can reduce the risk of CMV vertical transmission in the setting of primary infection of mother. Up-to-date data on the diagnostics of CMV during pregnancy and prophylaxis of neonatal infection are provided in the review.

Keywords:CMV; cytomegalovirus infection; valacyclovir; pregnancy

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