Beginning Dec. 1, 2025, newborn dried blood spot (DBS) specimens submitted to Cadham Provincial Laboratory (CPL) as part of the Manitoba Newborn Screening (NBS) Program will be routinely screened for CMV (cytomegalovirus).

In addition to being reported to the ordering practitioner, any screen positive newborns will be automatically referred to the Pediatric Infectious Diseases at HSC-Children’s Hospital to assist with confirmatory diagnostics, any necessary additional investigation and early intervention.

Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is considered a leading cause of childhood sensorineural hearing loss. It is estimated that 90 per cent of newborns with cCMV will not show any symptoms at birth. Of those newborns with CMV infection who are asymptomatic at birth, 10 per cent to 15 per cent may develop long-term sequelae, that could include vision loss, hearing loss, and developmental delays.

In the interim, screen positive infants will be immediately referred to Pediatric Infectious Disease for follow-up care. Additional information will be provided as the Congenital Infections Service is established.

Screening results will be available in eChart along with all other NBS results. Complete and accurate completion of the newborn screening card with particular attention to infant demographics and chart number is critical to populating eChart correctly. Please reinforce with your teams the importance of proper completion of the information requested on newborn cards, as the highest rate of reporting failure is as a result of missing or incorrect identifiers.

Access a printable file.

Submitted by: Tamara Burnham, Collaborative Practice Lead