[Congenital cytomegalovirus infection with fatal outcome].

A 34-year-old woman had an essentially uneventful pregnancy until membrane rupture in the 30th week of pregnancy. She developed severe eclampsia necessitating delivery by section in the 36th week. The child was asphyxic at birth with petechial haemorrhages and hepatosplenomegaly, suggesting cytomegalovirus infection (CMV). He died on the fourth day. Virus could not be isolated from maternal urine, cervical smear and placental tissue, but was demonstrated in the child's urine and post-mortem in lung and liver tissue. The ELISA test on the child's serum was positive for CMV-specific IgM antibodies.