Viral prevalence by gestational age and season in a large neonatal cord blood cohort
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Updated: Oct 18, 2025

Intracerebroventricular and Intravascular Injection of Viral Particles and Fluorescent Microbeads into the Neonatal Brain
Published on: July 24, 2016
Patrick E Sloan1, Cynthia Rodriguez2, Lori R Holtz2
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Objective:
To investigate viral prevalence in a large neonatal cohort and determine the impact on pregnancy and birth outcomes.
Study Design:
We prospectively collected 1044 neonatal samples from remnant neonatal cord blood RPR samples. We performed qRT-PCR/qPCR reactions for: adenovirus, anellovirus (alphatorquevirus and betatorquevirus), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), enterovirus, human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6), parechovirus, and parvovirus B19.
Result:
Overall viral prevalence was 5.6% with 58 positive samples. Alphatorquevirus (2%) and HHV6 (1.2%) were the two most prevalent viruses detected. Viral detection was most common in samples collected in the fall (September-November) and least common in those collected in winter (December-February). There was no statistical difference detected in viral prevalence or viral load by gestational age, preterm delivery, pre-eclampsia or chorioamnionitis.
Conclusion:
While there is seasonal variation in viral prevalence in neonatal cord blood samples, individual virus presence does not seem to effect pregnancy or birth outcomes.
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