By Maiya Focht, health reporter for Dailymail.Com
14:00 Jul 17, 2024, updated 17:21 Jul 17, 2024
A common virus in newborns may increase their risk of developing autism, a study suggests.
By examining the medical records of nearly 3 million infants, researchers found that those born with cytomegalovirus (CMV) were two and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with autism during their lifetime than children without CMV.
This seemingly harmless virus, similar to the common cold, affects about one in 200 babies and is the most common birth infection in the United States.
Yet doctors are not currently testing for the most common virus, which is transmitted from pregnant women to their fetus in the womb.
Researchers believe the disease may cause inflammation in the fetus’ brain that interrupts its development, leading to symptoms associated with autism, said Dr. Megan Pesch, the study’s lead author.
The University of Michigan pediatrician told DailyMail.com that his My daughter was born with CMV and was later diagnosed with autism, although she appeared perfectly healthy at birth.
She wants to raise awareness about the virus so that pregnancy screening becomes more common in the United States, as it is in other countries.
This could lead to more research on the topic to determine the causes of CMV, “to better understand what congenital CMV involves so we can better support families.”
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Some studies suggest that babies born with the virus are at higher risk of developing other symptoms, such as hearing loss and developmental delays.
About 2.8% of American children are diagnosed with autism.
Researchers don’t know what causes this disease.
Genetics are thought to play a role, but injuries or other environmental factors may also play a role.
Autism causes a multitude of behaviors, but is generally defined as a condition that affects how people interact, communicate, and learn.
Some common symptoms include sensitivity to noise, difficulty interpreting social cues, and delayed language development.
According to the NIH, most children are not diagnosed until age three.
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In general, CMV is relatively harmless and you probably won’t even realize your child has it, as many children have no symptoms.
Dr Pesch said some studies suggest that up to 90 per cent of cases at birth may therefore go undiagnosed.
It is contracted when a person comes into contact with the saliva of an infected person.
It’s especially common in toddlers, Dr. Pesch said, so she recommends that pregnant women and their partners avoid contact by washing their hands frequently.
When a mother becomes infected with CMV during pregnancy, the virus can cross the placenta and infect the baby.
This causes inflammation in the fetus’ brain. The theory is that the inflammation can put pressure on the fragile developing brain tissue, interrupting normal development and increasing the risk of developing autism.
There are intravenous infusions or pills that doctors can give to patients diagnosed with CMV, but they reserve them for people with weakened immune systems and newborns, and tend not to give them to pregnant women in the United States.
When children do have symptoms, they are similar to those of a cold, including swollen lymph nodes and a sore throat.
In about 20% of cases, a newborn may develop birth defects or other long-term health problems from congenital CMV, such as epilepsy, hearing loss, or cerebral palsy.
In his study, published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Pesch analyzed insurance applications for about 3 million children through Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
In doing so, they found that baby girls born with CMV were four and a half times more likely to develop autism than those without the condition.
Boys born with CMV were twice as likely to develop autism as those without the condition.
Overall, the risk in both sexes was two and a half times higher in children born with CMV.
In other countries, antivirals are routinely given to treat CMV during pregnancy, and Dr. Pesch said these drugs are similar to drugs used to treat genital herpes and are likely harmless.
Dr. Pesch suggests that early detection of the virus — when babies are still in the womb — could give doctors a chance to stop CMV before it harms a child’s brain.
Even making birth screening standard could help, she said, by informing new parents of their child’s higher risk of developing hearing problems and autism.
In states like Connecticut, Florida and Kentucky, newborns are already screened for CMV. But she hopes the United States will follow the lead of its northern neighbors: Canada already has prenatal CMV screening in place.
“If you know that these children might be at higher risk for autism, you can provide these families with similar services and support and monitor for symptoms earlier,” Dr. Pesch said.
“I think everyone would agree that autistic children can benefit from earlier support, not to change them, or to cure them (we don’t want that), but to help them develop their language and navigate the world.”