A new retrospective cohort study examining the impact of Minnesota’s first-in-the-nation mandated universal newborn screening for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) shows that universal screening significantly decreased the age at first audiology visit and increased identification of mild hearing loss in infants. The findings, published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), add to a growing body of evidence supporting universal cCMV screening programs as a critical public health tool.
Congenital cytomegalovirus is the leading infectious cause of birth defects and the leading non-genetic cause of hearing loss in infants, affecting approximately 1 in every 200 newborns. CMV-related…