# EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS--CHILDREN

> **NIH NIH R01** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 1991 · $395,746

## Abstract

Annually, intrauterine infection with cytomegalovirus (CMV) causes between
1,000 and 3,000 infants to be mentally retarded and/or deaf.  These effects
occur following primary maternal CMV infection during the first half of
pregnancy.  Our studies have found that between 25% and 80% of children
acquire CMV infections in day-care and shed virus for a mean of 18 months.
We also found that at least half of seronegative mothers with infected
children under age 2 years acquire CMV from their children within one year
compared to an annual rate of < 5% among other seronegative women.  Because
a majority of mothers are planning additional pregnancies, finding a simple
way to prevent primary maternal infection during pregnancy is important.
Annual infection rates of 50% for seronegative mothers makes it feasible to
evaluate behavioral intervention as a means for preventing maternal
acquisition.  Up to 300 families with seronegative mothers and young
children shedding CMV will be randomly divided into three groups.  A
Control Group receives no intervention.  An Education Group receives an
intervention that could easily be incorporated into regular monthly
prenatal obstetric visits:  written instructions on how to prevent
acquiring CMV from the child by use of gloves, hand washing, and contact
avoidance.  A third Education and Adherence Group receives the same written
instructions as those provided to the Education Group but they also receive
adherence interventions to enhance their activities to reduce risk of CMV
transmission.  Adherence strategies for Group 3 includes mastery
experiences during the educational session, frequent monitoring and goal
setting and corrective feedback.  Each woman and her family members will be
monitored every three months for one year.  Efficacy of intervention will
be assessed by comparing the incidence of CMV seroconversion among mothers
in each of three groups and confirming the source of infection using
restriction enzyme digestion of CMV DNAs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3126969
- **Project number:** 2R01AI017069-12
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** MLQFL4JSSAA9
- **Principal Investigator:** Stuart P Adler
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1991
- **Award amount:** $395,746
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1980-07-01 → 1996-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3126969

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3126969, EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS--CHILDREN (2R01AI017069-12). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3126969. Licensed CC0.

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