
CMV Québec: Supporting Families, Advancing Awareness
Scientific article
Newborn Screening for Congenital Cytomegalovirus in Canada: Environmental Scan
Ottawa (ON): Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health; 2024 May.
Scientific article
Guideline No. 420: Cytomegalovirus Infection in Pregnancy
Boucoiran I, et al. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2021 Jul;43(7):893-908. Epub 2021 Jun 2. Erratum in: J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2021 Dec; 43(12): 1466.
Scientific article
Perspectives of women on screening and prevention of CMV in pregnancy
Beaudoin ML, et al. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2021 Mar; 258:409-413. Epub 2021 Jan 27.
Publication of CHU Sainte-Justine's Research Center - May 28, 2025
La santé des femmes : une réalité multidimensionnelle : L’expérience de Caroline Leroux, parent partenaire
Press Article - Jan. 29, 2025
A researcher is studying cytomegalovirus in early childhood educators.
By Jean-Benoit Legault, La Presse Canadienne - January 29, 2025
Facebook Publication - Nov. 6, 2024
"Congratulations to Caroline Leroux on receiving the CMV Canada 2024 Family Advocacy Award!"
CMV Canada
Affiche ASV 2025
Understanding and mitigating CMV infection risks among daycare workers in Quebec, Canada:
a comprehensive mixed-methods approach
Introduction/Background: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the leading congenital infection, which can occur when women have a primary CMV infection, reinfection with a new CMV strain, or reactivation of a prior CMV infection during pregnancy. Due to exposure to young children, daycare workers (DCWs) may have an increased risk of CMV infection. Thus, we initiated a study to evaluate the risks and knowledge of CMV infection among DCWs in Quebec. Methods: We will recruit female DCWs (n=533) 18-45 years of age from daycare centers, as well as a control group (n=1659) of females without work-related exposure to young children. Participants will be followed for 12 months with blood and saliva collection, and surveys on relevant socio-demographic factors, knowledge, and behaviors. Conventional and strain-specific serology, will be used to detect primary and non-primary infections (i.e., reinfection or reactivation), respectively, and CMV shedding in saliva will be measured by PCR. Poisson regressions adjusted for clustering and weighted for differences in baseline characteristics will be used to calculate the relative risk of primary infection or reinfection, and frequency of shedding among DCWs compared to controls. Qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews will be analyzed using an inductive approach, to describe the knowledge and attitudes about CMV infection risks. Anticipated results: We hypothesize that CMV infection and reinfection with diverse viral strains are more frequent among DCWs than controls after controlling for potential confounders. We expect that DCWs will have a greater awareness of CMV and its potential severity than controls, and that most participants in both groups will be open to behavioral interventions to reduce the risk of (re)infection during pregnancy. Conclusions and implications for policy, practice or additional research: Our research will refine risk estimates and inform public health strategies to prevent congenital CMV infection through behavioral measures as well as vaccine development.






.png)



