Cytomegalovirus excretion in pregnant women in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey.

AIM: The study was carried out to determine the viral excretion rate of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in pregnant women in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, and to observe how it compared with that in western countries.

METHOD: Cervical excretion of cytomegalovirus by pregnant women was studied employing a highly sensitive CMV detection assay supported with fluorescent labeled monoclonal antibody directed against an immediate early antigen, known as DEAFF (detection of early antigen by fluorescent foci assay) test.

RESULTS

CMV excretion rates during the third trimester of pregnancy were similar to the detection rates reported from most developed countries. Our results also showed that the rate of cervical CMV excretion was higher among pregnant women who had a history of more than one spontaneous abortion.