Inapparent Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection

Abstract

A follow-up study on 15 children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection was undertaken to assess physical and mental development in their first four years of life. Infection was inapparent at birth in all children except one. Assessment included a complete physical examination, psychologic testing and virologic studies. None of the children who appeared normal at birth and at one year manifested any late sequelae at four years of age. The mean IQ of the infected children was 85.2, whereas that of the eight controls was 86.5. Eleven of the 15 children (73 per cent) were excreting virus; nine of these had detectable cytomegalovirus complement-fixing antibody. All seven males tested had viruria, as compared to four out of eight females (p<0.05). Complement-fixation titers in virus-negative children were not significantly different from titers in virus-positive children. (N Engl J Med 288:1370–1372, 1973)