Minnesota is the first U.S. state to universally test newborns for cytomegalovirus, an easily transmissible virus and a leading cause of infant hearing loss and congenital birth defects.
The announcement Wednesday follows a year of work to create a state protocol for testing at birth for the virus, known as CMV, and two decades of research at the University of Minnesota on ways to identify, prevent and treat the infection.
"We did it!" said an excited Dr. Mark Schleiss, the U expert in pediatric infectious diseases who led the research. "We got it to the finish line."
CMV is among more than 60 conditions for which newborns are screened in Minnesota, which started checking infants in the 1960s for a condition called phenylketonuria that can upset brain development. The state has been at the forefront of newborn screening — both in its ability to protect children from harm and to raise privacy debates about the storage and usage of the blood samples and other information collected.
About one-third of U.S. children carry CMV by age 5, and it can easily spread via bodily fluids such as saliva. However, serious complications are far more common among children infected in utero.
A test within 21 days of birth was urgently needed to identify congenital infections, and differentiate them from lower-risk infections that newborns could contract at home. The urgency for testing also has increased over the past decade with the expansion of antiviral therapies that can treat the infection and prevent its disabling results.
"Parents of children at risk for permanent hearing loss will receive early support that can help them prevent potential developmental delays," said Dr. Brooke Cunningham, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health.
Earlier trials of experimental vaccines failed to protect against CMV, but U research is ongoing.