Correlation of Human Cytomegalovirus Prevalence With Repeated Miscarriages In The City of Karbala, Iraq

Abstract

Cytomegalovirus (CMV), also recognized as human herpesvirus 5 (HHV-5), is prevalent within the herpesvirus family. The majority of CMV infections exhibit either no symptoms or mild flu-like manifestations, complicating its detection and often resulting in undetected infections. CMV infections can have serious consequences for certain populations, including newborns and individuals with weakened immune systems.

This study sought to elucidate the associations between human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and the frequency of miscarriages as well as the gestational age at which pregnancy loss occurs among expectant mothers.

In this study, 150 samples were analyzed, comprising women who had experienced recurrent miscarriage (100 samples) and a control group (50 samples), recruited from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Karbala, Iraq. The age range of participants varied from 15 to 50 years old. Sample collection occurred between December 2022 and February 2023, focusing on placental specimens.In this investigation, scholars employed the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 28.0 developed by IBM in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

A study was revealed HCMV DNA presence in 28 samples (18.67%), including both miscarriage patients and healthy pregnant women.A statistically significant correlation was observed between HCMV and various factors: the number of abortions, the week of abortion, and maternal age categories (35-44), (25-34), (15-24) (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) respectively. However, no significant correlation was found between recurrent miscarriage and the number of abortions, the week of abortion, and maternal age (45-54 years).Furthermore, there was no significant correlation between the number of participants and the control maternal age.