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Prevalence of Cytomegalovirus in Iraqi Children
حيدر صباح كاظم
Authors : Sevan Najem Alwan, Atheer Jawad Al-Saffar, Ali Hattem Bayati, Haider Sabah Kadhim, Hala Sameh Arif, Avan Hussein Ghaib, Luay Ibraheem Alrawi, Saadoon Abed Abdulrudha, Ahmed Hasan Mohammed, Bestoon Muhammad Saeed and Brian L. Wickes
The majority of children with congenital cytomegalovirus are born to cytomegalovirus seropositive women. However, the likelihood of congenital infection with disability is highest for children whose mothers were cytomegalovirus seronegative acquired infection during pregnancy. Objectives: to provide first nationally estimate of cytomegalovirus seropositivity among Iraqi children under five years of age. Materials and Methods was used total of 1000 hospitalized children under five years of age form different geographical area in Iraq were enrolled in this study. The numbers of children were collected by proportional allocation for each selected governorate according to total number of participant children. Kuppuswamy scale has been used to measure the socioeconomic status for children. Serum samples were obtained from each subject participate in this study, cytomegalovirus infection was defined as IgM antibody positive by electro-chemiluminescence Immunoassay techniques. The results show that the current study revealed a prevalence of cytomegalovirus specific IgM as a serum marker was 5.4% among children under five years of age. Positive cytomegalovirus was associated with low socioeconomic status, maternal bad obstetric history, and lower age of children, while the infection was not associated to geographical distribution and gender. By stratified the children into symptomatic and asymptomatic according to the signs and symptoms of cytomegalovirus congenital and acquired infection at time of sample collection, 15% and 0.9% proved to have positive specific IgM among symptomatic and asymptomatic children, respectively. Jaundice was the most predominant clinical sign 56% among symptomatic infected children, followed by hepatosplenomegaly 41.7%. Conclusion: The data provide in the current study strongly encourage routine testing for cytomegalovirus Antibodies among pregnant women in Iraq. Infants diagnosed to be sub-clinically infected with cytomegalovirus, considered being at a risk for the developmental sequelae and they should be observed closely in order to detect the consequences of congenital infection and to allow treatment to occur as early as possible.

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12/2017