CMV DNA detection in dried blood spots for diagnosing congenital CMV infection in Japan

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a leading congenital infectious agent in developed countries. In the past, the incidence of congenital infection has been rather low in Japan because a high seroprevalence of CMV present in young women. However, this seroprevalence has been decreasing in recent years, so that the incidence of congenital CMV infection in Japanese neonates may increase and approach the level seen in other developed countries. The method was used for detecting CMV DNA reported by Barbi et al. [Barbi et al. (1996): Clin Diagn Virol 6:27-32] using a dried blood spot on filter paper, to diagnose congenital CMV infection in Japanese neonates. This method is effective and less laborious than virus isolation both for epidemiological studies and for identifying asymptomatic infected babies. Japanese neonates (1,176) were examined; two of who were asymptomatic were found to be infected.