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RESEARCH ARTICLE

New diagnostics and methods of assessing pregnant women at risk of cytomegalovirus

Tiziana Lazzarotto A , Liliana Gabrielli B and Roberta Rizzo C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Specialised, Experimental, and Diagnostic Medicine, Operative Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Laboratory of Virology, St Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, University of Bologna, Via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy, Tel: +39 051 214 3360, Fax: +39 051 307397, Email: tiziana.lazzarotto@unibo.it

B Operative Unit of Clinical Microbiology, Laboratory of Virology, St Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna, Italy

C Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Microbiology and Medical Genetics, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

Microbiology Australia 36(4) 167-170 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA15060
Published: 19 October 2015

Abstract

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can occur in pregnant women by primary infection or by non-primary infection, namely by either reactivation of the latent virus or reinfection with a different strain1. In all cases the mother can transmit the virus to the fetus through the placenta2,3. In the diagnosis of primary CMV infection, the gold standard is maternal seroconversion to CMV-specific antibodies. Currently, women are not routinely screened for CMV before conception or during pregnancy, thus CMV seroconversion is infrequently documented1. Lastly, serological diagnosis of non-primary CMV infection is very difficult and very often unreliable since no optimal diagnostic methods are currently available. Today, the fetal compartment can be only studied by amniocentesis and ultrasound examination for the diagnosis and prognosis of CMV infection and generally, invasive diagnostic protocol can be only suggested to pregnant women with evidence of primary CMV infection acquired early in gestation and in case of abnormal findings suggestive of congenital infection1. Therefore, a correct maternal diagnosis makes so that invasive prenatal diagnosis is only offered in selected cases. This report points out how a CMV-screening program combined with an advanced diagnostic protocol performed on pregnant women could identify those at high risk of transmitting the virus to their fetus. Furthermore, we evaluated the possible role of soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) molecules detected in maternal and fetal samples in order to more accurately assess a greater risk of CMV-transmission and fetal/neonatal injury.


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