Citomegalovirus ed ipoacusie neurosensoriali congenite: aspetti preventivi e terapeutici.

Among intrauterine infections, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of those that occurs most frequently, being found as a primary infection, according to the most recent statistics, in a percentage varying from 1% to 4% of pregnant women. In primary CMV infections, the possibility of fetal transmission of the infection is around 30-40%, values which can increase up to 70% if the mother contracts the infection in the third trimester of pregnancy. CMV infection is the most common cause of congenital hearing loss, from non- genetic causes, even if hearing loss is not always evident at birth, as it can be detected later. Congenital CMV infection is generally responsible for a total of 30% of cases of deafness of unknown cause and 43% of those with severe or profound loss. It is estimated that 2% of children with asymptomatic congenital CMV develop hearing loss severe enough to meet the criteria for cochlear implant candidacy.