Seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus Infection amongst Pregnant Women

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major public health problem throughout the world. It is the leading cause of congenital infections leading to neurological disabilities in children that result to severe sequelae such as sensor neural hearing loss neuro-developmental delay and blindness. This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of human cytomegalovirus among pregnant women in Kaduna State Nigeria. Three hundred and sixty three (363) blood samples were collected from 330 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics and 33 non pregnant women attending the Outpatient Department in three selected General Hospitals in Kaduna State. Serum obtained from the blood samples were examined for the presence of CMV IgG antibodies by IFA method. About 94.8% of pregnant women tested positive to CMV IgG antibodies while all (100%) of the non pregnant women tested positive. There was no statistically significant association between CMV and pregnancy (χ2=1.784 df=2 p=0.182). Infection with CMV was strongly associated with zone location (χ2=15.381 df=2 p=0.000) and employment status of the women (χ2=5.519 df=1 p=0.018).