Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common infectious disease causing birth defects in the United States, yet routine screening remains absent from standard hospital protocols, according to pediatric experts. Researchers at Cleveland Clinic Children’s and the University of Minnesota Medical School are working to change newborn care standards by advancing universal screening programs designed to catch the silent infection within the first days of life.
The Silent Threat of Congenital CMV
For most adults, cytomegalovirus acts as a common virus similar to the common cold. However, transmission from a pregnant mother to her fetus can result in severe, lifelong health complications, according to Dr. Mark Schleiss, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Unidentified infections can lead to permanent disabilities, including hearing loss, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation.
“It turns out that cytomegalovirus is the most common infectious disease in the United States that causes birth defects in babies and most people don’t know that,” Schleiss said. Pregnant women are not routinely tested for the virus, and babies generally aren’t tested at birth, leaving many families unaware until symptoms appear later in childhood.
Advancing Universal Newborn Screening Tests
Medical researchers have worked to improve diagnostic accuracy for newborns, achieving almost 90% accuracy for identifying congenital CMV infections using refined laboratory tests, according to Schleiss. Early detection allows physicians to initiate timely medical interventions, speech therapies, and educational services during a child’s critical developmental window.
“If you don’t provide intervention for a hearing-impaired child in the first three years of life, that child will never go on to have normal speech or language development so it’s really critical we identify this complication,” Schleiss said. Universal hospital screening programs aim to catch these cases before infants leave the nursery, transforming long-term outcomes for affected children.
Family Impact and Public Health Advocacy
Stephanie Steidl, whose son Hank tested positive for congenital CMV at two weeks old after a call from Schleiss, noted that early diagnosis changed the course of her child’s life by granting immediate access to special education and early childhood services.
“How many of us heard of a kid that had a learning disability and the parents never knew why or they had speech problems and it wasn’t adding up so you think about these kids and you think back. They weren’t tested for CMV and they can’t go back and get diagnosed,” Steidl said. Researchers and advocates continue pushing for policy changes to ensure every newborn receives routine evaluation for the virus.
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