ESE-CMV study

Education, Serology and Evaluation to prevent congenital cytomegalovirus infection

Summary

Slide1.png#asset:1689Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection occurs in about 1 in 200 babies worldwide, and is Australia’s leading infectious and preventable cause of disabilities such as deafness, developmental delay, and cerebral palsy. 

At Mercy Perinatal, we are partnering with consumers and health service collaborators to guide future recommendations for antenatal and newborn care.

What is CMV?

A 2 minute video on CMV

Education

  • We have developed a free online eLearning module for GPs on perinatal infections that focusses on educating women about hygiene precautions to reduce their risk of CMV infection. This has been accredited for CPD points with the RACGP.
  • This online course is accessible to any health care professional, including obstetricians and midwives through Praxhub. Just create a free account and search for "Infections in Pregnancy" to get started!

CMV

Serology

  • We are conducting a pilot study of serological screening for CMV infection in early pregnancy. This study has been registered at the Australian Clinical Trials Registry  [Ref. ACTRN12623000710628p] and approved by the Mercy Health HREC.
  • Pregnant women who have never had a CMV infection before will be offered a follow up blood test at 12 weeks to screen for infection in early pregnancy. We will also ask these participants to answer three surveys at different time stages during their pregnancy journey. Participation is completely voluntary.
  • This study will tell us if it acceptable and feasible to introduce routine antenatal testing for maternal primary CMV infection in first trimester.
More information about our serology screening study

Evaluation

  • We have commenced an important study to understand the lived experience of women with a suspected cCMV during pregnancy. Through in-depth interviews, we have identified ways that we can support pregnant people and their partners through an unexpected diagnosis of CMV. We have developed information resources for families that will be publicly-available through our consumer partners at CMV Australia soon!
  • We also plan to evaluate Australian consumer and clinician perspectives on CMV screening through a national survey in 2024. 
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Our collaborators

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Norman Beischer Medical Research Foundation and the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.   

For further information about our research, contact our study team at ESE-CMV@unimelb.edu.au or contact the Mercy Health Human Research Ethics Committee at ethics@mercy.com.au.