Should we routinely screen for cytomegalovirus antibody during pregnancy?

In order to evaluate the usefulness of cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibody scree ning during pregnancy, women attending for antenatal care at the Antoine Be clere Hospital (Clamart, France) were prospectively studied during 22 month s (1995-1996). Forty-five percent of these women were CMV-seropositive. Twe nty suspected or confirmed CMV primary infections were detected. Nine infec ted infants were born to these women. All infected infants are now between 10 months and 2.5 years old. They all are asymptomatic even those who initi ally presented abnormal biological parameters or slightly abnormal ultrasou nd scans during fetal life. Presently, screening for CMV antibody cannot be recommended because it induces economic, psychological and ethical problem s. Furthermore, there is no efficient and safe treatment available so far. However, we do think that large studies must be performed to increase our k nowledge about the natural history of intrauterine CMV infection. This is a lso important for an improved assessment of the value of ultrasound examina tion results as well as the biological parameters measured in fetal blood s amples.