Prevalence survey of cytomegalovirus infection in children in Chengdu.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common worldwide perinatal infection. Although usually asymptomatic, it may cause deafness in up to 15% of these infants. A cross-sectional study was performed to determine the age-specific prevalence of CMV seropositivity in Chinese children and to determine if any risk factors for infection could be identified. In a two-stage sampling procedure, nine districts were randomly selected from 70 citizenship districts in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China. Then, 1,950 households were randomly selected from 11,886 households and interviewed. Blood was obtained from all children aged less than seven years and assayed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. A subgroup of sera was retested at the research laboratory and also sent to the National Reference Laboratory in Beijing. Kappa values for the test agreement with the reference laboratory and retesting within the study laboratory were 0.94 and 0.86, respectively. Seropositivity averaged 52% in those aged less than one year and 60% in those between four and seven years. A higher rate of seropositivity was observed in urban versus rural children (odds ratio (OR) = 2.55), breast feeding in urban areas only (OR = 1.87), and day care versus home care setting (OR = 1.59). High CMV seroprevalence, even in the first year of life, was observed in this population of well children in Chengdu, China. An association was observed between seroprevalence and residence, method of feeding, and day care attendance.