Primary cytomegalovirus infection in pregnant Egyptian women confirmed by cytomegalovirus IgG avidity testing.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the frequency of primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in pregnant Egyptian women using CMV IgG avidity testing.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted at Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt. A total of 546 pregnant women, presenting for routine antenatal screening, were tested for CMV IgG and IgM using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sera from CMV IgM-positive women were tested by CMV IgG avidity assay.

RESULTS

All the 546 pregnant women were seropositive for anti-CMV IgG. Of the 546 women, 40 (7.3%) were positive or equivocal for IgM antibodies. All sera from the 40 women (IgG+/IgM+) showed a high or intermediate CMV IgG avidity index. Of the 40 women, 23 (57.5%) were in the second or third trimesters of pregnancy and had their first-trimester blood retrieved, and the tested CMV IgG avidity assay showed a high avidity index.

CONCLUSION

Women who were IgM positive had no primary CMV infection in the index pregnancy as evidenced by the high CMV IgG avidity testing.