Universal Screening for Congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV) Doubles the Detection in Newborns

cCMV is the most common nongenetic cause of hearing loss and developmental delays, with the most recent statistics reporting that 1 in every 200 live births is affected (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024).

There are two ways to screen cCMV in a newborn; targeted screening ensures the baby is tested for cCMV after failing their newborn hearing screening (NBHS) while universal screening occurs for all live births. There are currently only two states with legislation mandating universal cCMV screening, Minnesota and Connecticut. However, many states have targeted screenings in their legislation while many other states and facilities are doing screenings voluntarily.

Esper and colleagues (2026) created a standardized cCMV screening program at Cleveland Clinic, where tens of thousands of babies are delivered every year. Every infant who was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) over a 2-year period was screened, with a final count of nearly 7,500 infants screened.

According to the authors, the expanded screening led to a 2.5 increase in the detection of cCMV when compared to the targeted screening that was occurring before. The authors concluded that, although “expanded” screening for infants who fail their newborn hearing test or present with cCMV symptoms is now endorsed by American Academy of Pediatrics, the next goals are universal cCMV screening in the NICU and eventually every baby.

References

Tanzo, J., McBride, L., Burke, P., Jamis, C., Das, A., et al. (2026). Implementing congenital CMV screening in a large hospital system. Pediatrics, 158(4), e2026076776. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2026-076776

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 10). About cytomegalovirus. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Congenital CMV Infection. https://www.cdc.gov/cytomegalovirus/about/index.html