Virological Diagnosis Laboratory
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Sandro Binda
Members:
Dr. Maria Barbi
Dr.Laura Pellegrinelli
Ms. Valeria Primache
The group’s research activity is focused on:
Congenital cytomegalovirus infection (CMV). – A rapid and reliable diagnosis at birth of the dreadful congenital cytomegalovirus infection can allow the prompt enrolment of the infected child in a clinical follow-up aimed at the earliest identification and successful correction of damages, such as sensorineural hearing loss, that can develop late in infancy. In this field our group developed internationally acknowledged diagnostic methods for neonatal congenital CMV infection screening based on viral DNA identification in neonatal samples of blood (CMV DBS test) and saliva (CMV DSS test) dried on inert material.
Currently, the research has its primary focus on two major research lines:
Topic 1. Epidemiology of congenital CMV infection
- Assessment of the infection prevalence in the Italian population and identification of risk groups
Topic 2. Prevention ofcongenital CMV infection and sequelae
- Evaluation and improvement of the degree of both awareness of the problem and knowledge of hygienic measures for primary infection prevention in pregnancy
- Evaluation of the genotype of the infecting virus and the viral load at birth as prognostic factors for the late development of permanent sequelae,
Recent/relevant Publications
Binda S., Mammoliti A., Primache V., Didò P., Corbetta C. , Mosca F., Pugni L., Bossi A., Ricci C., Barbi M. Pp65 antigenemia, plasma real-time PCR and DBS test in symptomatic and asymptomatic cytomegalovirus congenitally infected newborns BMC Infectious Diseases 2010; 10:24
Barbi M., MacKay WG., Binda S., Van Loon AM. External quality assessment of cytomegalovirus DNA detection on dried blood spots BMC Microbiology 2008; 8 : 2
Barbi M., Binda S., Caroppo S. Diagnosis of congenital CMV infection via dried blood spots Rev. Med. Virol.. 2006; 16 : 385-392
Contacts
Dr. Sandro Binda: tel. 02-50315125 sandro.binda@unimi.it
Dr. Laura Pellegrinelli: tel. 02-50315128 laura.pellegrinelli@unimi.it
Ms. Valeria Primache: tel. 02-50315123 valeria.primache@unimi.it