Seroepidemiological survey of cytomegalovirus infection among pregnant women in Nagasaki, Japan

Abstract

Although CMV seroprevalence among pregnant women has been decreasing in industrialized regions including other parts of Japan, CMV-seroprevalence remains high in Nagasaki. Thus, epidemiology of CMV infection seems variable within Japan, a country generally considered to be ethnically and socioeconomically homogeneous. However, 40-80 infants may be congenitally infected and 15-27% (or 6-22) of them may ultimately suffer from certain neurological sequelae annually in Nagasaki Prefecture, so where annual live births are approximately 13,300, congenital CMV infection seems to be a significant public health problem in such an apparently low-risk region as Nagasaki.