HCMV seroprevalence in couples under infertility treatment

Congenital HCMV infection affects about 0.5-0.9 % of newborns in Europe. Primary prevention could effectively be implemented in screening programmes for couples treated for infertility. By supplying epidemiological data, the proportion of women susceptible to primary HCMV infection is estimated.

Retrospective evaluation of HCMV IgG of couples with recurrent implantation failure in German IVF programmes referred to a tertiary immunological centre for lymphocyte immunotherapy in 2002 (727 couples) and 2012 (294 male partners only).

HCMV seroprevalence was 45 % in women and 33 % in men of childbearing age in 2002 and has not declined any further in the male group (34 %) in 2012. It was higher in women (39.8 %) than in males (28.0 %) of German descent (p < 0.00001). Most couples were concordantly seropositive (20.5 %) or negative (41.8 %). Discordant partnerships comprised of seropositive women with negative partners (24.6 %) and seronegative women with positive partners (13.1 %).

More than 50 % of the women are HCMV seronegative and may benefit from primary prevention. About one fourth of them live with a seropositive partner. Risks to contract HCMV via the sexual route in a long-term discordant partnership may be very low, and the advice of protective safer sex methods in this group of prospective parents is critical since it leads to a conflict of interests.