Cytomegalovirus Seroprevalence among Pregnant women in Jahun, Nigeria

Cytomegalovirus is the most common intrauterine infection, whose clinical manifestations are associated with the immune status of the host. Although several reports of neurological sequelae in children that are traced to maternal CMV infection are in existence, there is limited information such as proper understanding of the immune mechanism in relation to the pathogenesis and clinical forms, lack of capacity for CMV detection in all levels of health facility laboratories in Nigeria. Hence, no intervention policy for the prevention and control of CMV infections. With the high prevalence of cytomegalovirus infection identified in this study, it's obvious that most fetuses are at risk of neurological problems ranging from Sensoneural hearing loss, learning difficulties and varying degrees of congenital malformations. Adults predisposed to conditions of immunosuppression will likely suffer the consequences of CMV infection, reinfection and reactivation of latent infections.