[Cytomegalovirus, breast feeding and prematurity]

Cytomegalovirus can be detected in breast milk of almost all seropositive women. Postnatally acquired CMV infection through human milk feeding occurs as soon as the third week in premature infants. Even if this infection is often limited to serologic conversion, two other clinical presentations were reported. The more severe, a sepsis like syndrome, occurs more frequently among the more premature neonate. Neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, cholestasis and mild increase in inflammatory markers depict the more frequent form. In both presentation, clinical signs and laboratory abnormalities are transient. Until now, no significant impact on long term outcome was reported, nonetheless studies focusing on that topic are scarce and a longer follow up might be required to ascertain the good outcome. Holder pasteurization inactivates CMV, meanwhile freezing-thawing does not.