Cytomegalovirus Transmission in Special-Care Centers for Mentally Retarded Children

This study aimed to determine whether special-care centers for mentally retarded children are high-risk settings for cytomegalovirus (CMV) transmission. Serum and urine specimens obtained from 311 mentally retarded children aged 3 to 12 in three centers were compared for CMV seropositivity and CMV viruria with specimens from 360 normal children of the same ages. A seropositivity rate of 73.5% and a viruria rate of 8.7% were found among the children attending special-care centers. These rates were significantly higher than the 59.2% seropositivity and 1.7% viruria found among normal children