Clinical manifestations of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection in children in the first few months of life

The research objective was to study frequency of antenatal infection and record probable clinical manifestations in 100 children with HCMV born from mother with HCMV in blood and mononuclear cells. The study identified poly-systemic internal organ damage in neonates due to prenatal HCMV. Research procedures involved study of 100 pairs of patients, Mother-Child tandem, using regular clinical assessment methods per algorithm and HCMV diagnostic methods: ELISA, affinity and avidity of HCMV antibodies, and HCMV genome identification via PCR method in blood plasma and mononuclear cells. Initial clinical disease manifested in 71% of children during late neonatal period. Children who died of HCMV (5%) were infected antenatal, and 39% were born prematurely. Embryonic stigma found in five cases. HCMV’s affinity to different tissues during the process of embryogenesis leads of poly-systemic damage and results in various clinical manifestations in the postnatal period. HCMV’s ability to invade mononuclear blood cells jeopardizes the antivirus defense system. The research is vital to deter the transmission of the virus and provide HCMV specific treatment to couples planning to have children.