Event to raise awareness of devastating and widespread virus to unborn children

DETROIT- Dr. Philip Pellett, professor of immunology and microbiology and a cytomegalovirus (CMV) researcher in WSU's School of Medicine and resident of Woodhaven, along with Suzy Migrin, a Livonia resident and mother of a CMV child, are co-chairing the 2009 annual CMV Awareness Walk-n-Rollathon at the Detroit Zoo Saturday, May 16, 2009.

The event, sponsored by the Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation, aims to raise public awareness about CMV infection and to generate support for development of a vaccine that may eliminate the devastating effects this virus can have on an unborn baby. In addition to Detroit, the foundation is hosting 10 other events across the U.S. on May 16.

CMV is a common virus that has infected 50 to 80 percent of Americans by the time they are 40 years old. When contracted after infancy, CMV seldom causes significant disease in individuals with healthy immune systems. In an unborn baby, however, the virus can have devastating and even fatal effects, causing a wide-range of neurodevelopmental disabilities.

CMV is the virus most commonly transmitted from pregnant women to their unborn children. Approximately 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV infection, and approximately 20 percent of these children (1 in 750 of all children) are born with or develop permanent disabilities including deafness, microcephaly (small brain), blindness, seizures and more because of the virus. CMV is the second leading cause of mental retardation, and is one of the leading causes of cerebral palsy and childhood hearing loss. Half of all expectant mothers in the U.S. have never contracted CMV, and therefore have never built immunity to the virus; their babies are at especially high risk for severe effects of congenital CMV if the mother is infected while pregnant. To complicate matters, even women who were infected with the virus before becoming pregnant can transmit the virus to their unborn children. Although these infections are usually less severe, they are more common and can still cause significant damage.

"Our goal for this event is to enhance public awareness of this virus and how it can tragically alter the lives of unborn babies and families," said Pellett. "My goal is to contribute to development of systems that would prevent CMV infections in unborn children, such as improved diagnostic methods and development of a vaccine. For now, we need to raise public awareness of these common, and too often devastating, infections because we already know enough to reduce their number."

To learn more about the CMV Awareness Walk-n-Rollathon or for registration materials, visit www.cmvfoundation.org, or contact the local event organizers at cmv.walk.mi@gmail.com.

Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in an urban setting, ranking in the top 50 in R & D expenditures of all public universities by the National Science Foundation. Through its multidisciplinary approach to research and education, and its ongoing collaboration with government, industry and other institutions, the university seeks to enhance economic growth and improve the quality of life in the city of Detroit, state of Michigan and throughout the world.