Prevalence of cytomegalovirus infection among health care workers in pediatric and immunosuppressed adult units

The prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection varies not only from one country to another, but also with social, economic, and environmental condi tions and with professional activity. Health care workers in contact with t he main vectors of the CMV (ie, children and immunosuppressed patients) are particularly exposed to the infection. We assessed the prevalence of the v irus among health care personnel in light of CMV epidemiology and the recen t shift in living conditions and family size. Our study was included in a b roader program evaluating the risk of infection among female hospital worke rs of childbearing age. The goal of the program was to implement appropriat e preventive measures for personnel who were not immune to the infection. C onsequently, we included only female caregivers who worked with children or immunosuppressed patients. The study was based on a clinical examination a medical and occupational questionnaire, the assessment of tasks performed, and CMV serologic testing: The overall seroprevalence was 44.25% in our po pulation (n = 400) and was comparable regardless of the place of work. Prev alence differed significantly with age and parity, and we also found that i t was higher among personnel who worked in closer contact with the patients (nurse's aides, pediatric nurse's aides) than among those whose tasks requ ired more technical skills (nurses, pediatric nurses) (57.3% vs 34.5%, P < 0.01). The logistic regression analysis between prevalence of CMV antibodie s, age, parity, and type of job showed that "contact job" was as significan t a factor as parity to explain immunization in our population (odds ratio, 2.2). We also determined a correlation between the prevalence of CMV antib odies and tasks performed. In addition, we found a non-negligable group of non-immune personnel (55.75%) and young workers (mean age: 33.4) who were p otentially exposed to infection. This points to the need to establish a pre vention program.