User: Merck
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is common but typically asymptomatic infection, except when transmitted from mother to baby during pregnancy. In such cases, it can lead to a congenital CMV infection, a major cause of childhood brain damage. No CMV vaccine is currently available.
Merck has developed a promising CMV vaccine using a harmless virus strain, shown to be safe for women of childbearing age. However, the vaccine complicates diagnosis, as it causes standard blood tests to appear positive, making it hard to determine if someone is infected.
This project aims to evaluate CMV-Scan, a new test developed by Dr. Soren Gantt’s team, to determine if it can distinguish the vaccine strain from naturally circulating strains. If successful, this test could measure vaccine effectiveness and help protect babies from congenital CMV-related brain damage.