pediatrics
Congenital and Perinatal Cytomegalovirus Infection (CMV)
Prevention of Congenital and Perinatal CMV Infection
Nonimmune pregnant women should attempt to limit exposure to the virus. For instance, because CMV infection is common among children attending day care centers, pregnant women should always wash their hands thoroughly after exposure to urine and oral or respiratory secretions from children. Transfusion-associated perinatal CMV disease can be avoided by giving preterm neonates blood products from CMV-seronegative donors or leukoreduced products. A vaccine to prevent congenital CMV is under development. CMV hyperimmune globulin given to pregnant women with primary CMV infection did not show a reduction in congenital infection in a randomized, controlled trial ( Prevention references ). Maternal antiviral therapy with 1.Revello MG, Lazzarotto T, Guerra B, et al: A randomized trial of hyperimmune globulin to prevent congenital cytomegalovirus.N Engl J Med370(14):1316–1326, 2014. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1310214 2.Hughes BL, Clifton RG, Rouse DJ, et al: A trial of hyperimmune globulin to prevent congenital cytomegalovirus infection.N Engl J Med385(5):436–444, 2021. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1913569 