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CompletedNCT03722615Updated Aug 6, 2019

Epidemiology of Congenital Cytomegalovirus in a High HIV Prevalence Setting, South Africa

An observational study in Cytomegalovirus Congenital, Hearing Loss and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, sponsored by University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Completed at 1 site in South Africa. Open to participants aged 1 Minute to 48 Hours, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-08-06.

Sponsored by University of Witwatersrand, South Africa · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
3,000
Ages
1 Minute to 48 Hours
Sex
All
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Study summary

The aim of this project is to determine the epidemiology of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and incidence of subsequent permanent neurological sequelae in a high HIV prevalent setting in Soweto, Johannesburg. A cross-sectional study will be conducted on mother-infant pairs, screening mothers for CMV infection and newborns for congenital CMV infection. Maternal CMV prevalence will be determined by testing for CMV specific antibodies in blood. Newborn congenital infection will be determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on newborn saliva and urine within 3 weeks of birth. Various risk factors associated with congenital CMV such as HIV exposure, and gestational age will be assessed. The association between maternal vaginal CMV shedding postnatally with congenital CMV infection will be explored by swabbing maternal vaginal fluid and conducting quantitative CMV PCR analysis. Newborns confirmed with congenital CMV and a control group of uninfected newborns will form a cohort to be followed up until 12 months of age monitoring for various neurological sequelae such as hearing loss, neurodevelopmental impairment, ocular damage, cerebral damage and seizures.

A comparison of vaccine immune responses between cases of congenital CMV and the CMV uninfected infants to the primary series of vaccines in the National Expanded Programme on Immunisation will be compared. The contribution of CMV infection to neonatal death and stillbirths will be described by minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) for CMV on babies that die during the neonatal period and stillbirths.

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Conditions studied

  • Cytomegalovirus Congenital
  • Hearing Loss
  • Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Immunogenicity
  • Neonatal Death
  • Stillbirth
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In context

Hearing Loss

1,092 studies on the registry are indexed under Hearing Loss; 235 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 3,000 is above the median of 87 across 270 observational studies indexed under Hearing Loss.

Browse Hearing Loss studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Witwatersrand, South Africa is the lead sponsor of 46 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
1 Minute to 48 Hours
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Newborns of women aged 18 years or older born at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic hospital in the Johannesburg area enrolled in V98_28OBTP (NCT02215226).

Stillbirths and Neonatal deaths at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic hospital in the Johannesburg area.

Inclusion criteria

  • Mother's age ≥18y
  • Residing in Soweto and would be available for study follow-up
  • Consents to enrol self and baby in study

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Mother not enrolled in V98_28OBTP (NCT02215226)
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Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
3,000 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No
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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Prevalence of congenital cytomegalovirus infection in HIV exposed and HIV unexposed newborns

    Prevalence will be determined by testing a saliva sample collected at birth for CMV DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Newborns that test positive for CMV at birth will have confirmatory testing done within 3 weeks of birth by testing a repeat saliva and urine sample for CMV DNA by PCR. Confirmed cases will be divided by the total number of newborns screened, stratified by HIV exposure status to determine CMV prevalence.

    Time frame: May 2016 - December 2016

  2. Incidence of sensorineural hearing loss in congenital CMV infected and uninfected infants, assessed by visual reinforced audiometry

    Screening for sensorineural hearing loss is initially conducted by acoustic reflex testing (ART) and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE). To pass ART testing, the infant will have to obtain at least two reflexes at either 0.5, 1, 2 and/or 4kHz in both ears. To pass DPOAE testing, the infant will have to pass at least 3 frequencies (2,3,4 and/or 5kHz) in both ears, which is an overall pass. If any of ART or DPOAE has not been passed, the child will have diagnostic visual reinforced audiometry. Hearing thresholds will be defined as: 0 to 20 dB for normal hearing, 21 to 45 dB for mild hearing loss, 46 to 70 dB for moderate hearing loss, and 71 dB or higher for severe hearing loss.

    Time frame: May 2016 - May 2019

  3. Incidence of neurodevelopmental delay in congenital CMV infected and uninfected children at one year of age assessed by scores obtained in the Bayley III developmental assessment tool.

    The Bayley III scales of infant and toddler development assess the neurodevelopmental domains based on observed responses to a set of tasks presented to the child which are scored directly on the following subscales: cognitive scale, language summed scale of receptive and expressive language subscales and motor summed scale of fine and gross-motor subscales. Composite scores are derived from raw scores for cognitive, language, and motor development and scaled to a metric, with a mean of 100, standard deviation of 15, and range of 40 to 160. Performance that is 2.0 or more standard deviations below the mean score for each group will be used to define neurodevelopmental delay at 6 and 12 months.

    Time frame: May 2017 to March 2018

Secondary outcomes

  1. Prevalence of CMV infection in stillbirths and neonatal deaths

    Prevalence of in-utero CMV infection in stillbirths and neonatal deaths (occurring before 3 weeks age) and sites of infection. Minimally invasive tissue sampling of the major organs (lungs, brain, liver) and cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples will be tested for CMV by PCR assay.

    Time frame: July 2015 to August 2016

  2. Immunogenicity to primary series of childhood vaccinations in congenital CMV infected and uninfected children

    When infants are aged 6 months a venous blood sample will be collected. Antibody to diphtheria toxoid, tetanus-toxoid, pertussis toxoid, filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) will be measured by an in-house Luminex multiplex immunoassay. Immune responses to the primary series of PCV will be measured by a standardized enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to test for vaccine serotype-specific capsular immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibody concentrations and opsonophagocytic assay.

    Time frame: October 2016 to February 2018

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Study locations

1 site
  • Respiratory and Meningeal Pathogen Research Unit, Soweto
    Johannesburg, South Africa
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References and documents

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Mar 22, 2017

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 6, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03722615
Lead sponsor
University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Responsible party
Jayani Pathirana (PhD Fellow, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa) — Principal investigator
First posted
Oct 29, 2018
Start date
May 6, 2016
Primary completion
Apr 1, 2019
Completion
Apr 1, 2019
Last update
Aug 6, 2019

Study contacts

Shabir A Madhi
study director · Univeristy of Witwatersrand, South Africa

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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