Prevalence of maternal cytomegalovirus (CMV) antibody and detection of CMVDNA in amniotic fluid

The prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG antibody was determined in 573 pregnant women in the first trimester, The overall prevalence of CMV IgG an tibody was 77.5%. The rate of seropositivity was 67.7% in women <25 yr, and increased with age to 85.7% in women greater than or equal to 40 yr, These results imply that young women in Japan are at increased risk for primary CMV infection during pregnancy and that congenital CMV infection rates migh t increase in the future. We conducted a prospective study of 75 pregnant w omen who underwent amniocentesis for various indications to determine if CM V DNA could be detected in the amniotic fluid. None had symptoms associated with CMV infection, CMV IgM antibody, or seroconversion to CMV IgG antibod y during pregnancy, CMV DNA was not detected in the amniotic fluid using a polymerase chain reaction assay. The 65 fetuses, including 3 sets of twins, were followed through birth. CMV DNA was not detected in urine samples obt ained within the first 2 weeks of life. In conclusion, CMV DNA was not dete cted in the amniotic fluid of women who did not have CMV infection. These r esults, however, suggest that the negative predictive value of prenatal amn iotic fluid analysis is high and that the presence of CMV DNA in the amniot ic fluid has clinical significance for the diagnosis of congenital CMV infe ction if detected in pregnant women.