25677997

PMC4328139

DP2 HD075699/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States
DP2HD075699/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States

CDC Public Access

Mother-to-child transmission of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and varicella zoster virus (VZV) can lead to severe birth defects and neurologic impairment of infants. Congenital CMV complicates up to 1% of all pregnancies globally. Although antiviral treatment of infants congenitally infected with CMV can ameliorate the CMV-associated hearing loss and developmental delay, interventions to prevent congenital CMV infection and the associated neurologic impairments are still being evaluated. Congenital VZV infection is rare. Active and passive immunization strategies to prevent perinatal CMV infection with similar efficacy to those established to prevent perinatal VZV infections are critically needed in pediatric health.