Science research at the University of Alabama, Birmingham has led to a new, simple, and cost-effective test for the cytomegalovirus infection that may cause acute hearing loss in infants.
The research was led by Suresh Boppana, M.D., and Karen Fowler, Dr. P.H., from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This NIH funded science research was made possible by two one year NIH grants that totaled over $141,000. The goal of the project was to determine the extent to which CMV contributes to Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), and to develop a simple, fast and cheap test for CMV.
CMV disease has no known cure or vaccine and may lead to hearing loss in infants. If a doctor is able to detect CMV as early as possible they can monitor a child for signs of hearing loss and more readily intervene to lessen the impact of this impairment on a child's life.
The current test for CMV has proved to be to slow and expensive to be viable on a large scale. It involves a rapid culture saliva test that requires time to grow the culture as well as a tissue growing facility that is often not available in poor communities around the world. The new method developed by the UAB researchers is based on a polymerase chain-reaction and requires only a saliva sample. The test can return results quickly with over 97 percent accuracy.
During the study around 35,000 babies were tested for CMV in Ballabgarh, India. Those that tested positive will be watched for signs of hearing loss for the next four years. Infants usually contract CMV from their mothers who can contract the virus through contact with young children or through sexual contact with another adult.
This research will help screen numerous infants for CMV in poorer countries around the world.
(video courtesy of UAB news)
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