Newborn screening is a public health program which screens infants for a variety of genetic, endocrine, and metabolic disorders following birth. For example, a newborn screening panel may test for homocystinuria, Krabbe disease, propionic acidemia, or more. Outbreak News Today reported that Minnesota recently approved a recommendation to screen for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV), an infectious condition. Now, the state will become the first within the U.S. to screen for this at birth.
For a list of conditions on each state’s newborn screening panel, check this helpful guide from Baby’s First Test.
Screening for cCMV
In late January 2022, Minnesota’s Commissioner of Health approved the measure to add congenital cytomegalovirus to the newborn screening panel. This follows the passage of The Vivian Act in 2021, which dictated that the Department of Health was required to teach pregnant individuals and doctors about this infectious condition. Minnesota being the first in the country to enact this is unsurprising, as the state currently has one of the most comprehensive newborn screening panels nationwide.
Minnesota will have to take a few steps before fully enacting this panel. To begin, the state must first decide what scientific methods will be used to screen for congenital cyclomegalovirus. Typically, the scientists use dried blood. However, this does not seem to be the most effective measure to test for infection. The state must also begin to work on clinical guidelines and various protocols. More information will be released in the future.
About Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
Over 50% of adults are infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus related to the viruses which cause herpes and chicken pox, by age 40. In fact, an estimated 1 in 3 children is infected with CMV by age 5. For most healthy individuals, there will be no side effects or adverse reactions from infection. The virus also stays in the body for life, though it is not always activated. However, CMV can be dangerous for immunocompromised individuals, pregnant women, and newborns.
CMV can be passed through saliva, urine, blood, semen, breast milk, organ transplants, blood transfusion, or from mother to child via the umbilical cord. When a baby is born with CMV, it is called congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV). The CDC estimates that every 1 in 5 infants is born with cCMV. Not every child born with cCMV will show symptoms; about 10% are symptomatic at birth. These symptoms include:
- Hearing and/or vision loss
- Premature birth
- Hepatosplenomegaly (enlarged spleen and liver)
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes)
- Microcephaly (an abnormally small head)
- Rash
- Low birth weight
- Intellectual and developmental delays
- Pneumonia
- Retinitis
- Liver and central nervous system (CNS) damage
- Seizures
An estimated 40-60% of those born with cCMV will experience long-term health issues, including intellectual delays, hearing and vision loss, seizures, problems with coordination, and microcephaly. However, some of these symptoms may not appear until later infancy or early childhood.
