A CMV test to protect babies
CMV, or cytomegalovirus, is a common infection that is usually harmless, but it can cause serious health problems in some babies if a mother transmits the virus during pregnancy. This is known as congenital CMV.
Most affected babies are born without symptoms and only develop problems many months or years later, which is often too late for treatment. These life-long health problems can include sight or hearing loss, epilepsy or, more rarely, developmental or learning difficulties.
Early detection of CMV and prompt treatment (before four weeks old) can help to improve outcomes. Unfortunately, as there is no routine screening for CMV in the UK, and current diagnostic methods are costly and require specialist equipment, many babies are diagnosed too late.
With Action funding, Professor Vincent Teng and his team at Swansea University want to change this by developing a new device that can be used at the bedside to screen for CMV in newborn babies and provide rapid results.
We’re aiming to develop a low-cost, highly-sensitive device that could be used to screen for CMV in newborn babies.
Professor Teng and his team will initially test whether their device can accurately detect and measure CMV directly in samples taken from newborn babies. They will then compare the results against the current gold standard diagnostic test to demonstrate the feasibility of using it as a screening tool for CMV infection in the future.
If successful, the availability of an accurate, easy-to-use diagnostic tool could transform lives by allowing early detection of CMV in more babies, enabling prompt treatment to help limit long-term disability.
This new technology would be ideal for large-scale screening of newborn babies who are at risk of future health problems, enabling early targeted intervention to help improve their outcomes.
TOGETHER WE CAN HELP PROTECT BABIES
100% of your donation will support researchers developing a CMV screening device for babies.