Posted on October 4, 2005 at 2:05 p.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has been awarded a seven-year, $15.6 million grant to investigate screening newborns for a common, usually “silent” infection known as cytomegalovirus (CMV). The national, multi-site study is funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, one of the National Institutes of Health.
“CMV is a leading cause of hearing loss in children,” said Suresh Boppana, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and co-principal investigator of the study. “Our study will further investigate the link between CMV and hearing loss in children and will evaluate the feasibility of screening newborns for CMV infection.”
In healthy children and adults, the virus usually shows no signs or symptoms and poses no threat, but for unborn babies and people with weakened immune systems, it can lead to serious health problems. “In the United States, it’s estimated that 40,000 infants are born each year with CMV,” said Karen Fowler, Dr.P.H., UAB research associate professor and co-principal investigator. “Of these, about 10 to 15 percent will develop significant health problems, most often hearing problems, as a result of the infection.”
CMV is frequently spread from person to person through bodily fluids — saliva, tears, blood, semen and vaginal secretions. “CMV acquired during delivery through contact with vaginal secretions or after birth through the mother’s breast milk is usually not harmful for babies,” Fowler said. “The concern is when a woman contracts CMV during pregnancy and in turn transmits the virus to her unborn child.”
Although most states require infants to undergo hearing tests before they leave the nursery, CMV-related hearing problems may not be present at birth. “A significant number of children with this type of hearing loss are not identified by newborn hearing loss tests,” Boppana said. “Newborn CMV screening would help us identify children at risk for developing hearing problems as a result of the virus.”
The study will be conducted in three phases. The first phase, now underway, is focused on getting protocols approved and things in order to begin recruitment. The second phase, scheduled to begin later this year, will begin enlisting newborns to compare and determine the best method for screening — whether to test using saliva or a drop of blood. Phase three, scheduled to begin next year, will enroll more than 100,000 newborns for screening and follow up.
Other participating institutions are: University of Mississippi, Jackson; Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, North Carolina; St. Peter’s University Medical Center, New Brunswick, New Jersey.; University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center; University of Pittsburgh and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
UAB has been a leader in CMV research for more than three decades. “Much of our understanding of congenital CMV infection and its impact on children is the result of this fundamental work,” Boppana said. “It’s why UAB was chosen to lead this effort.”