Maternofoetal transfer of Cytomegalovirus IgG antibodies in Maiduguri, North Eastern Nigeria

A serological study to determine the transfer of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgG antibody between 94 mothers and their newborns attending the State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri was carried out using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) technique. The ELISA technique used was a commercial kit BIOTEC which detects IgG specific to CMV.Of the 94 mothers tested, 93 (98.9%) have CMV IgG antibody while their corresponding newborns had 86.2% (81 out of 93) seroprevalence rate. The percentage prevalence according to sex of the newborns was 86.3% (44 out of 93) and 69.8% (37 out of 93) males and females respectively. About 87.1% of the newborns were immune to CMV infection compared with 12.9% susceptible.There was a positive correlation between maternal CMV IgG antibody with maternal age (r = 0.57), gestational age (r = 0.03) and the number of pregnancies (r = 0.03).Most (87.1%) mothers in the study are immune to CMV infection and were able to pass adequate protection (CMV IgG) to their newborns leaving a small (12.9%) proportion of susceptible newborns to CMV.