1 Departments of Pediatrics and Microbiology, The University of Alabama in Birmingham, Birmingham
2 Division of Viral Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Public Health Service, US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta
Children with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection shed virus intermittently in saliva and urine for months to years; viruria often persists for five or more years.1 This feature of congenital CMV infection is a problem for institutions such as hospitals and infant developmental centers, as well as for persons who provide care for children with congenital CMV infection. There is concern that these children will transmit CMV to their care givers, who are usually young women in their child-bearing years. Unfortunately, this concern can lead to exclusion of handicapped children with congenital CMV infection from special education programs designed to teach children with motor, hearing or other CNS damage.