Cytomegalovirus infection in the North West of England: A report on a two-year study

Abstract

The incidence and epidemiology of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in Manchester has been studied for two years. 36 cases of congenital infection were found. Over 90% of those detected in routine surveys or born without central nervous system disease have not shown any serious developmental defects following their virus infection and are progressing normally. Virus excretion was found in 3·2% of children admitted to hospital, but, except in cases with mental retardation (with or without symptoms of central nervous system disease) and with feeding problems, there was no definite relation between virus excretion and the clinical condition bringing them into hospital. Serological surveys of different groups in the population indicated that the majority of infections occurred in adolescence and early adulthood, that 40-45% of women of child-bearing age were not immune to CMV, and that 5% of blood donors were capable of transmitting infection to patients receiving blood transfusions. Virus was isolated from 5·2% of schoolchildren aged 5-6 years, from 0·4% of babies born in hospital, and from the cervix of 3-4% of women attending hospital clinics. In adults CMV infection was found to be associated sometimes with atypical glandular fever, hepatitis, and polyneuritis. Very close contact seems necessary for the spread of CMV.