Birth prevalence and characteristics of congenital cytomegalovirus infection in an urban birth cohort, Jakarta, Indonesia

•The prevalence of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in Jakarta, Indonesia, was 5.8%.•These congenitally CMV infected newborns were more likely to have ventriculomegaly and thrombocytopenia.•CMV infected babies were almost four times more likely to be born to mothers who had placenta previa or placental abruption. Little is known about the birth prevalence and characteristics of congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in developing countries. To determine the prevalence and characteristics of congenital CMV infection in Indonesia, we conducted a prospective study in an urban birth cohort of neonates at a national referral hospital in 2016−2017, Jakarta, Indonesia. Consecutively born neonates were screened for the presence of CMV by using pan-herpesvirus nested-PCR and Sanger sequencing in saliva and/or urine specimens. Both the neonatal clinical findings as well as maternal characteristics were also evaluated. From a total of 411 newborns screened, congenital CMV infection was confirmed in 5.8% of the neonates. These CMV-positive newborns were more likely to have ventriculomegaly and thrombocytopenia compared to CMV-negative neonates. Notably, 67% CMV-positive neonates in our study had clinical findings that required medical intervention, from which only nine presented with symptoms suggestive of congenital CMV infection. Furthermore, congenital CMV infected babies were almost four times more likely to be born to mothers that had placenta previa and placental abruption. Our work highlights the high prevalence of congenital CMV infection in neonates born in one of the biggest referral hospitals in metropolitan Jakarta, Indonesia.