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Review
. 2024 May 15:12:1359663.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1359663. eCollection 2024.

"Congenital cytomegalovirus in Sub-Saharan Africa-a narrative review with practice recommendations"

Helen Payne  1   2 , Shaun Barnabas  1
Affiliations
Review

"Congenital cytomegalovirus in Sub-Saharan Africa-a narrative review with practice recommendations"

Helen Payne et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common cause of congenital infection internationally, occurring in 0.67% of births, and increasingly recognised as a major public health burden due to the potential for long-term neurodevelopmental and hearing impairment. This burden includes estimates of 10% of childhood cerebral palsy and up to 25% of childhood deafness. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where CMV-seroprevalence is almost ubiquitous, prevalence of congenital CMV (cCMV) is higher than the global average, and yet there is a dearth of research and initiatives to improve recognition, diagnosis and treatment. This narrative review outlines the epidemiology and clinical presentation of cCMV, discusses issues of case identification and treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa, and recommends a framework of strategies to address these challenges. Considering the significant burden of cCMV disease in this setting, it is undoubtably time we embark upon improving diagnosis and care for these infants.

Keywords: Africa; congenital; cytomegalovirus; developmental impairment; hearing loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Global epidemiology of congenital cytomegalovirus (8, 17). Made with eSpatial.com®.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Manifestations of cCMV disease in infancy and long-term (27, 28). Long-term defined as >24 months of age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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