Diagnosis and counseling of fetal and neonatal HCMV infection.

Fetal HCMV infection is investigated by amniocentesis when a maternal primary infection is diagnosed or ultrasound (US/MRI) abnormalities are observed. In fetal blood, prognostic markers of symptomatic congenital infection may be evaluated for parental counseling. At birth, viral load measurement in body fluids may correlate with long-term sequelae, but the prognostic accuracy of symptomatic infection increases when maternal, fetal, and neonatal parameters are combined.