Journal of Neonatal Biology

Abstract

Treatment for Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection: who, for how long,with what Drug Regimen?

Bernhard Resch

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most
frequently identified viral cause of mental retardation and is the
leading non-genetic cause of neurosensory hearing loss in developed
countries, and is the most common congenital infection in human
beings, with approximately 1% of all infants born alive in the United
States being infected with CMV  Infants with symptomatic
CMV infection with observations at birth including petechiae,
hepatosplenomegaly, microcephaly, thrombocytopenia, or jaundice
with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia showed in 70% of cases abnormal
computed tomographic (CT) scans with intracerebral calcification
being the most frequent finding, and again 90% of the children
with an abnormal newborn CT scan developed at least one sequela
[4]. In addition, almost half of the children with CT abnormalities
had an IQ <50 compared with none of those with a normal CT. Of
infected fetuses, approximately 10% are symptomatic at birth, and
90% of symptomatic survivors have significant neurologic sequelae,
including hearing deficits in 30% to 65%