Detection of human herpes viruses 1-5 in miscarriage: A case-control study

Miscarriage is the spontaneous pregnancy loss before 24 wk of gestation. The incidence rate of miscarriage over the past few decades has shown steady or even growing trends. Viral intrauterine infections are one of the probable etiological causes of miscarriage. Previous evidence have shown that human herpes viruses (HHVs) could be considered as the potential reasons for intrauterine infections and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

This case-control study aimed to detect HHV1-5 DNAs in placental tissues and assess their association with miscarriage during the first 24 wk of pregnancy in spontaneous and therapeutic abortions.

Placental tissues from 83 women with spontaneous abortions during the first and the second trimesters of pregnancy and 81 women with therapeutic abortion during the same gestational age were collected. The DNA extraction was performed by the phenol/chloroform method. A part of the DNA polymerase gene of HHVs was amplified with multiplex nested-polymerase chain reaction. The polymerase chain reaction products were subjected to sequencing.

The results showed the presence of human cytomegalovirus genome in the placenta of both spontaneous (8.4%) and therapeutic (4.9%) abortions. No statistically significant differences were found between these two groups. The other investigated viruses were not detected here.

In conclusion, like some other studies, no correlation was detected between the HHVs placental infections and the increased risk of spontaneous abortions. In order to find the actual role of HHVs infections in miscarriage, further investigations should be performed on a larger sample size in different areas.