Background: Diagnosis of congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection relies on virus isolation from urine collected in the first 3 weeks of life. However, very little is known about the presence, levels and duration of HCMV pp65 antigenemia, viremia and DNAemia in congenitally infected newborns.
Objectives: To investigate the diagnostic and prognostic value of HCMV load determination in blood of newborns/infants with congenital HCMV infection.
Study Design: HCMV pp65 antigenemia, viremia and DNAemia were investigated in 116 sequential peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) samples from 41 newborns/infants with congenital HCMV infection and in 34 PBL samples from 34 uninfected newborn. Virus-specific IgM were determined in parallel on 145 sequential serum samples.
Results: Compared to virus isolation from urine, sensitivities of DNAemia, antigenemia, viremia, and IgM determination were 100, 42.5, 28.2, and 70.7%, respectively. Specificity was 100% for all assays. Antigenemia, viremia and DNAemia levels were significantly higher and persisted longer in newborns with symptomatic infection compared to subclinically infected babies, whereas no difference was observed for virus-specific IgM antibody between the two groups.
Conclusions: (i) determination of viral DNA in blood at birth appears to be a sensitive and specific marker for diagnosis of congenital HCMV infection; (ii) significantly higher levels of HCMV load were detected in infants with symptomatic HCMV infection; and (iii) virus clearance from blood occurs spontaneously both in symptomatic and subclinically infected infants. However, the process takes longer in infants presenting with symptoms at birth.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s1386-6532(99)00016-5 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Natural Killer Cell Education in Women With Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.
Am J Reprod Immunol
February 2025
GROW Research Institute for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Problem: Natural killer (NK) cells undergo education for full functionality via interactions between killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) or NKG2A and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) ligands. Presumably, education is important during early pregnancy as insufficient education has been associated with impaired vascular remodeling and restricted fetal growth in mice. NK cell education is influenced by receptor co-expression patterns, human cytomegalovirus (CMV), the HLA-E107 dimorphism, and HLA-B leader peptide variants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSafety, Immunogenicity, and Efficacy of Cytomegalovirus Vaccines: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Vaccines (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Public Health, Section of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, 60126 Ancona, Italy.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is widespread and mostly causes asymptomatic infections in immunocompetent hosts, but it may lead to severe and life-threatening diseases in immunocompromised individuals, such as transplant patients and congenitally infected children, representing a significant public health concern. Although there are no licensed CMV vaccines, the development of a CMV vaccine is considered a high priority due to its potential to reduce the burden associated with CMV-related complications, and several approaches are under investigation. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the evidence on various CMV vaccines currently under clinical development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExploitation of Unconventional CD8 T-Cell Responses Induced by Engineered Cytomegaloviruses for the Development of an HIV-1 Vaccine.
Vaccines (Basel)
January 2025
The Jenner Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.
After four decades of intensive research, traditional vaccination strategies for HIV-1 remain ineffective due to HIV-1's extraordinary genetic diversity and complex immune evasion mechanisms. Cytomegaloviruses (CMV) have emerged as a novel type of vaccine vector with unique advantages due to CMV persistence and immunogenicity. Rhesus macaques vaccinated with molecular clone 68-1 of RhCMV (RhCMV68-1) engineered to express simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) immunogens elicited an unconventional major histocompatibility complex class Ib allele E (MHC-E)-restricted CD8 T-cell response, which consistently protected over half of the animals against a highly pathogenic SIV challenge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytomegalovirus-associated panenteritis in an immunocompetent 60-year-old woman treated with oral valganciclovir: a case report.
J Int Med Res
January 2025
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection typically affects immunocompromised individuals. However, CMV-associated enteritis involving the entire small intestine is rare in immunocompetent patients. We report a case of a 60-year-old immunocompetent woman with a history of diabetes mellitus who presented with diarrhea for 3 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHearing Loss in COVID-19 Patients: An Audiological Profile of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patients in Qatar.
Cureus
December 2024
Geriatrics and Long-Term Care, Rumailah Hospital - Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, QAT.
Background and objective Viral infections caused by cytomegalovirus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, varicella-zoster virus, herpes simplex type 1 and type 2, rubella, measles, rubeola, HIV, West Nile virus, Lassa virus, and mumps are known to be associated with hearing loss. There have been reports of inner ear involvement in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients but the extent and variations in cochlear involvement of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients has not been adequately described. This study aimed to evaluate the hearing status among symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients to address the prospects for routine screening for hearing loss in COVID-19 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!