Prevalence of Human Cytomegalovirus Infection in Pregnant Women in Yarim City, Yemen

Abstract

To determine the Seroprevalence of cytomegalovirus in pregnant women in Yarim, Ibb governorate. A cross-sectional study was conducted in different medical centers at Yarim, Ibb Governorate, During the period between 2022 to 2023. A total of 190 blood samples of pregnant women were collected and examined. Seroprevalence of human cytomegalovirus, immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Out of the 190 pregnant women enrolled in the study, 154 were seropositive for cytomegalovirus infection with overall prevalence rate as 81.05%. Furthermore, out of 190 pregnant women participated in this study, 144(75.79%) were seropositive for CMV-IgG antibodies and 10 (5.26%) for CMV-IgM antibodies.
Signification differences (P<0.05) were observed between seroprevalence rate and type of immunoglobulins. The highest CMV IgG seroprevalence rate77.65% was recorded in pregnant women with age group between 20-30 years of age; whereas the lower rate 60% in pregnant women with age group of 31-40 years. Significant differences (P<0.05) were existed between IgG seroprevalence of and age groups of pregnant women tested. Similarly, the highest CMV IgM seroprevalence rate 10% was recorded in pregnant women with age group between 31-40 years of age; whereas the lower rate 4.71% in pregnant women with age group of 20-30 years old. Person`s Chi square analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences between the age and CMV-IgM. In
Conclusion: Human cytomegalovirus infection is prevalent in pregnant women in study area. Proper hygienic environment, good diagnosis, introduction of vaccines and antiviral therapies could be helped in control of HCMV and related abnormalities in pregnant women and neonatal babies. Further study is required to study the epidemiology of HCMV in study area and other areas of Yemen as well.