Experimental Vaccine Reduces Stillbirth

U.S. researchers have developed an experimental vaccine that reduces stillbirths among rodents born to mothers infected with cytomegalovirus, or CMV.

CMV, which affects some 40,000 U.S. infants, is a common virus that can also cause mental retardation and hearing loss in newborn children infected in early fetal life, according to Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

An effective CMV vaccine for women of childbearing age could greatly reduce the disability caused by the virus, said Alexander. A prototype vaccine is the first step in protecting newborns against the most common viral disease of newborns in the developed world.

CMV is a common viral infection related to the herpes virus and often causes few or no symptoms, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

The study is published in the March 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.