Immunological Indicators in Aborted Women Infected with Human Cytomegalovirus in Karbala City, Iraq

Abstract

Introduction:In affluent countries, human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of congenital malformations caused by viral intrauterine infection. HCMV infection is the infectious cause of deafness, visual loss, mental retardation, and other neurodevelopmental disorders in children, causing significant morbidity and mortality in infants. Objective: The work was conducted to identify the rates of spontaneous abortion occurrence among the age groups, stages of pregnancy, and detection of the type of abortion that most frequently occurred in the pregnant women community. Patients and Methods: 65 Blood samples were collected from abortifacients women at the moment of miscarriage. Each pregnant woman had five milliliters of blood collected to separate the sera. The CMV-IgM and CMV-IgG antibody levels in the patient's serum were determined using an ELISA assay. Results: The outcome of antibodies against CMV were found in 50 of 65 (76.92%) aborted mothers, while 15 (23.07%) of 65 women had abortions for unknown reasons. Meanwhile, most pregnant women who had abortions tested positive for CMV-IgG, with 36 (72%) of them being positive, the number of people who tested positive for CMV-IgM was 14 (28%). The age group 25-34 years old was the most infected with CMV infection, accounting for 25 (50%) of the cases. 96% and 4% of patients were infected in urban and the countryside regions, respectively. Conclusion:Based on this research, spontaneous abortion rates are increasing within young age groups, particularly for missed abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy.