1Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Bagdad University, Baghdad, Iraq
2Department of Community and Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq
3Department of Community Health, Technical College of Health, Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
4Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq
5Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq
6Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
7Children's Welfare Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq
8Alkarama General Hospital, Wasit, Iraq
9Department of Pathology Analysis, College of Science, Dhi-Qar University, Dhi-Qar, Iraq
10Department of Laboratory Analysis, Pediatric Teaching Hospital, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
11Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Director of Advanced Nucleic Acids Core Facility, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
*Corresponding e-mail: dr.alkarkhi@gmail.com; sevan.alwan13@gmail.com
Online published on 19 November, 2018.
The majority of children with congenital cytomegalovirus are born to cytomegalovirus seropositive women. However, the likelihood of congenital infection with disability is highest for children whose mothers were cytomegalovirus seronegative acquired infection during pregnancy.
to provide first nationally estimate of cytomegalovirus seropositivity among Iraqi children under five years of age. Materials and Methods was used total of 1000 hospitalized children under five years of age form different geographical area in Iraq were enrolled in this study. The numbers of children were collected by proportional allocation for each selected governorate according to total number of participant children. Kuppuswamy scale has been used to measure the socioeconomic status for children. Serum samples were obtained from each subject participate in this study, cytomegalovirus infection was defined as IgM antibody positive by electro-chemiluminescence Immunoassay techniques. The results show that the current study revealed a prevalence of cytomegalovirus specific IgM as a serum marker was 5.4% among children under five years of age. Positive cytomegalovirus was associated with low socioeconomic status, maternal bad obstetric history, and lower age of children, while the infection was not associated to geographical distribution and gender. By stratified the children into symptomatic and asymptomatic according to the signs and symptoms of cytomegalovirus congenital and acquired infection at time of sample collection, 15% and 0.9% proved to have positive specific IgM among symptomatic and asymptomatic children, respectively. Jaundice was the most predominant clinical sign 56% among symptomatic infected children, followed by hepatosplenomegaly 41.7%.
The data provide in the current study strongly encourage routine testing for cytomegalovirus Antibodies among pregnant women in Iraq. Infants diagnosed to be sub-clinically infected with cytomegalovirus, considered being at a risk for the developmental sequelae and they should be observed closely in order to detect the consequences of congenital infection and to allow treatment to occur as early as possible.
Prevalence, Cytomegalovirus, Hepatosplenomegaly, Iraqi Children, IgM
