Transfusion-Acquired Cytomegalovirus Infection in Newborn Infants

One hundred fifty-one infants who were cared for in a high-risk nursery in the perinatal period were studied with regard to the risk of acquiring a cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection after blood transfusion. The prevalence rate for infection with CMV at 7 months of age was 11% (eight) in a group of 74 infants who had not received blood products, as compared to 25% (19) in a group of 77 infants who had received blood transfusions. Of the 19 CMV infections identified among the 77 infants who had been transfused, six are believed to have been acquired from a source other than the mother, probably from blood products. The risk of acquiring a CMV infection in this manner needs to be further delineated, as does the risk of such babies infecting susceptible pregnant women in their environment.