Neonatal screening for congenital CMV infection stresses the importance of maternal nonprimary infection even in an area where prenatal serology testing is common.

AIM AND METHODS: Dried blood spots from 2149 newborns were examined to diagnose congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV).

RESULTS: Prenatal CMV-IgG antibodies had been measured during prenatal care in 1287 (60.3%) of mothers and 980 (76.1%) of them were found seropositive. cCMV incidence was 0.47%. All newborns were asymptomatic; 9/10 were born post nonprimary maternal infection; two developed sensorineural hearing loss.

CONCLUSIONS: In a country where prenatal CMV testing is common and therefore a false sense of control might prevail, nonprimary maternal infection should not be overlooked. Indeed, women of childbearing age should be educated on CMV prevention measures irrespectively to their serostatus.