Serological and molecular detection of Cytomegalovirus in aborted pregnancies in Babylon, Iraq: A case-control study

English (OpenAlex)

Background: HCMV is the most frequent and potentially dangerous viral complication in humans and is a significant cause of congenital abnormalities in foetus; CMV-infected pregnant mothers may give birth to malformed or abortive children. Objectives: Serological and Molecular Study of Cytomegalovirus Causing Abortion in some women. Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted 30 women cases with abortion and 30 pregnant women (control group); CMV IgM and IgG antibodies were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and for cytomegalovirus DNA detection, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used. Results: Among 30 women who were evaluated for CMV infection, the serological test results showed that 27 (90%) patients tested positive for IgG, while 2 (6.7%) tested positive for CMV IgM. While the results obtained from the control were 7 (23.3%) subjects positive for IgG, and all of them were negative for IgM. CMV DNA results revealed 18 (60%) samples were HCMV DNA positive in aborted women, while 3 (10%) were positive in the pregnant women. The ROC curve revealed CMV IgM sensitivity was 70%, the specificity was 78%, with a highly significant difference (P = 0.001**). While CMV IgG, the sensitivity was 86%, the specificity was 83%, with a highly significant difference (P = 0.007**), and CMV DNA sensitivity was 96%, the specificity was 95%, with a highly significant difference (P = 0.000**). The superiority of PCR over ELISA in diagnosing HCMV enables earlier and more accurate detection, leading to timely treatment and improved patient outcomes. Conclusion: The amount of HCMV IgG and IgM antibodies in the blood is a key factor in diagnosing miscarriage, but the polymerase chain reaction technique is the most important for diagnosing CMV infection, as the ROC curve gave high sensitivity and specificity for PCR results compared to ELISA, proving its superiority.