CMV Infection in Very Low Birth Weight Infants via Breast Milk

German investigators report a cohort of infants born between 1995 and 1998 who were <32 weeks of gestation and <1,500 g birth weight and were followed prospectively for clinical and laboratory evidence of postnatal cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The purpose of this study was to determine the risk of CMV transmission from mother to infant via breast milk. Mother-infant pairs were screened serologically initially, and by virus culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of breast milk and urine samples biweekly until discharge. The final urine specimen for CMV testing was obtained from the infant at a corrected age of 3 months. Breast milk feeding was started within 48 hours of life. Infants were evaluated during a 3-week period (1 week before and …