Abstract
A prospective study has been established of CMV among pregnant adolescents and their offspring. Results derived from studies of 53 mothers (mean age 15.6 yrs.) and 54 infants comprise this report. ¶ Thirty-seven of the 53 (81%) were CMV(CF) seropositive when first tested (mean estimated gestational age 23 wks). Twenty-three mothers (43% of total and 62% of seropositives) had one or more positive cultures for CMV and three of their infants (5.5% of total) were congenitally infected with CMV. ¶ The geometric mean (GMT) of maximum CMV titers among virus-positive mothers was 48.5 in contrast to 3.7 among those who were virus-negative (p<0.01). Twelve of 13 mothers with anti CMV titers of 64 or higher were virus-positive and three gave birth to congenitally infected infants. The CMV GMT was 39 in infants born to virus positive mothers compared to a CMV GMT of 4 in babies of virus-negative mothers (p<0.01). All (11) cord blood samples with a titer 64 were obtained from infants born to virus-positive mothers and included those congenitally infected. The determination of maternal and neonatal CMV antibody thus identified a particularly high risk subgroup. ¶ Pregnant adolescents and their offspring may experience frequent CMV infections (exogenous or endogenous in origin). The long term impact of these infections may be a factor in the poor outcome of some teenage pregnancies.
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Lang, D., Welt, S., Kummer, J. et al. 10 CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV) IN PREGNANT ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR OFFSPRING. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 365 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00015
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00015