Open AccessCytomegalovirus seroprevalence in pregnant women in the western region of Romania: A large‑scale study
Author(s) -
Florin Gorun,
Sorin Motoi,
Daniel Malița,
Dan Navolan,
Dragoş Nemescu,
Tudor Rareș Olariu,
Marius Craina,
Tatjana Vilibić-Čavlek,
Ioana Ciohat,
Daniel Boda,
Amadeus Dobrescu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
experimental and therapeutic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1792-1015
pISSN - 1792-0981
DOI - 10.3892/etm.2020.8945
Subject(s) - seroprevalence , pregnancy , cytomegalovirus , medicine , obstetrics , immunology , human cytomegalovirus , antibody , serology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , viral disease , herpesviridae , biology , virus , genetics
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most common congenital infection worldwide, and remains a significant cause of the neurological deficiency and sensory deafness in developed countries. Maternal primary infection, reactivation or reinfection during pregnancy may lead to fetal infection and congenital CMV syndrome. The purpose of this study was to analyze the CMV seroprevalence according to demographic features of pregnant women in western Romania as well as the evolution of CMV immunity in two time intervals. IgG anti-CMV antibodies were tested in sera of 8,951 pregnant women during two successive intervals: 2008-2010 (n=1466) and 2015-2018 (n=7485). The CMV seroprevalence in women of reproductive age decreased from 94.6 to 91.80% in the last decade. The seroprevalence was higher in women from rural areas compared with those from urban areas. These results show that the western region of Romania has a low-risk profile for primary CMV infection during pregnancy due to a large number of seropositive women. However, this risk has increased in the last ten years, from 5.4 to 8.2%, which may show the need to implement a national screening program.