News
Cytomegalovirus lies dormant in most US adults and is the leading infectious cause of birth defects, but few have heard of it
Yahoo News, May 2023
"While some birth centers provide early CMV testing, most U.S. states do not mandate newborn CMV screening. My team and I surveyed 33 hospitals in Massachusetts from late 2020 to early 2021 and found that less than half are consistently screening infants for cCMV infection. Of those, only a few have a written testing protocol. Only two hospitals performed cCMV screening on all infants admitted to the newborn nursery."
Three Little Letters Every Pregnant Woman Should Know
Boston Globe, April 2023
"Unless you’ve heard of CMV, you will not Google CMV. I first hear the letters when my second daughter, Anna, is 10 days old — when she weighs only four pounds, is mostly silent, and hasn’t yet passed a hearing test..."
Often overlooked, a common infection during pregnancy kickstarts a conversation about newborn screening
STAT News, April 2023
“Through my entire career, it’s been so clear that this field is really lacking in progress,” said Laura Gibson, an infectious diseases physician at UMass Memorial Health. “It’s just been frustrating to all of us in the field over decades.”
Congenital Cytomegalovirus Screening in Massachusetts Birth Hospitals: A Statewide Survey
International Journal of Neonatal Screening, December 2022
"We conclude that congenital cytomegalovirus screening protocols are absent or incomplete in most Massachusetts birth hospitals and newborn nurseries. A cohesive strategy involving standardized education and screening guidelines is needed to reduce the incidence and burden of congenital cytomegalovirus disease on children and their families."
UMass Chan and Moderna to study cytomegalovirus transmission in young children
Umass Chan Medical News, March 2022
"We hope that this study will generate new evidence to help us understand how the immune systems of young children and adults control and reduce the spread of CMV, which could guide the design of a vaccine to generate those effective immune responses.”
Hank Investigates: Saving Babies’ Hearing and Lives
Channel 7 News, July 2021
A warning about a virus that can be devastating to your newborn baby’s hearing and health. One out of every 200 infants are born with it and some experts say education and a simple test could help prevent terrible consequences. So why isn’t that happening? 7’s Hank Phillippi Ryan investigates.
Experts Push for Legislation to Save More Babies’ Hearing
Focus- MA Eye and Ear, June 2021
Drs. Cohen and Glovsky are members of a grassroots organization comprised of parents and health professionals called the Massachusetts cCMV Coalition. In February, the coalition submitted a bill to the Massachusetts legislature that is currently under review. The law would mandate universal screening for CMV for all births at Massachusetts hospitals, along with mandatory prenatal education for parents, and improved CMV reporting practices statewide."
The Hank Zone
WPKZ 105.3 FM/AM 1280,
June 2021
Dr. Laura Gibson and Vanessa Colleran Discuss CMV with Hank Stolz on the K-Zone
Wilmington family hopes to make virus screening universal
Middlesex East, March 2021
"Shayne and Megan Gaffney received quite the surprise when their daughter was born two years ago at Winchester Hospital with a medical condition called congenital cytomegalovirus, the leading viral cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities in children. Now, the couple hopes to help other parents be better prepared in the event their child receives a similar diagnosis through a bill that would require doctors screen for cCMV."
After loss of son, Oxford mom pushes for universal newborn screening for congenital CMV
Telegram and Gazette,
March 2021
"Why didn’t anyone tell me?” is the most common response from mothers when they find out their child is infected with congenital CMV [...] Vanessa Colleran, Oxford mother and a special education teacher, was one of those women who were not aware of such a virus that could have dangerous effects on an unborn baby. Not until she was 26-weeks pregnant with her son, Logan, did she learn that there was something horribly wrong with her baby."