Seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus among blood donors and antenatal women attending two hospitals in Khartoum State

Abstract

Back ground: Cytomeglovirus(CMV) is a common viral infection globally. Although most infections are subclinical; infection during pregnancy may be associated with serious outcome such as abortion, stillbirth and congenitally malformed child. Methods and results: During the period from June to July2003, 250 subjects (150 blood donors and 100 women presenting to Khartoum Teaching Hospital's and Omdurman Maternity Hospital respectively)had their blood tested for IgG antibodies against Cytomegalovirus using ELISA test. Of these 84% were found to harbor Cytomegalovirus antibodies. The seroprevalence of the virus was higher in the antenatal women (95%) compared to the blood donors (77%). Conclusion: The study revealed insignificant association between infection with the virus and both history of previous surgical operation and blood transfusion (p> 0.05).CMV infection was found to be associated with increased risk of abortion in women under study.

Keywords: herpesviruses, abortion, blood transfusion.