Dried Blood Spot Test Reliably Detects Congenital Cytomegalovirus at Birth

New research from the University of Minnesota Medical School confirms that testing for congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) at birth using the routinely collected dried blood spot (DBS) is a reliable and effective method to identify newborns at risk for long-term developmental challenges. The findings were recently published in JAMA Network Open. 

Congenital CMV is a virus passed to infants in the womb and occurs in about 1 in 200 infants. About 20% of babies with cCMV infection have birth defects or other long-term health problems. 

The findings demonstrate that the PCR-based test performed on dried blood spots — already collected during routine newborn screening — is just as useful in identifying those infants who need follow-up for their congenital CMV infection as other more cumbersome and time-consuming tests that use urine or saliva. This is significant because it avoids the added time, higher costs, and potential stress for families that come with collecting other types of samples from newborns. 

The DBS method detects over 90% of symptomatic CMV cases, effectively identifying the babies most in need of early interventions and ongoing developmental monitoring.

“Babies born with CMV infection, more often than not, do just fine. However, enough infants experience complications — such as hearing loss and developmental delay — that there has long been debate about screening all newborns,” said Mark Schleiss, MD, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a pediatrician with M Health Fairview. “This study confirms the wisdom of universal testing, and it’s a testament to the power of parental advocacy, which led to the passage of the Vivian Act and the adoption of statewide screening.”

In 2023, Minnesota became the first state to screen all newborns for cCMV. Research by Mark Schleiss, MD, and his team at the University of Minnesota Medical School was a catalyst in bringing this idea to hospitals across the state. 

“These findings define a new path forward and a new approach to newborn care, but improvements can be made,” Dr. Schleiss said. “We have a test that has over 90% predictive ability to find those CMV babies that need extra help – let’s improve the test and aim for 100% accuracy.” 

This work was funded by the Emerging Infections Program coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Health, the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, the American Legion and Auxiliary Heart Research Foundation, and the Minnesota Vikings Community Health Impact in Pediatrics Award.

Reference: Schleiss MR, Osterholm EA, Shanley R, et al. Dried blood spot pcr for detection of congenital cytomegalovirus infection and disease. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(8):e2529837. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.29837

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