All pregnant women will now have to be screened for this serious illness.

This screening is not currently recommended systematically.

The issue has been under discussion for several years. The government has asked the French National Authority for Health (HAS) whether this screening should be made systematic. Today, although it "is being carried out more and more frequently, there is no recommendation in favor of systematic screening during pregnancy," the HAS recalled on June 17, 2025. It notes that only 1 in 3 pregnant women undergo this screening, with "screening inequalities across the country."

The HAS has therefore recommended that screening for this disease, cytomegalovirus (CMV), should now be made routine. This infection is benign in the general population. Almost 1 in 2 French women of childbearing age have been in contact with the virus, which is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids (saliva, urine, etc.). Women who come into contact with young children, particularly in daycare centers, are particularly at risk of being infected.

But if the infection "develops during pregnancy, particularly during the early stages of pregnancy, it can cause serious after-effects in the unborn baby," according to the HAS. In rare cases, CMV can cause "hearing loss, neurological disorders, overall developmental delay, or forms of paralysis" in the fetus, according to the HAS.

The risks are even greater early in pregnancy. It is precisely during the first trimester that screening should be performed on women whose serological status is unknown or negative. This screening is essential for several reasons. First, in pregnant women who have not been exposed to CMV, "preventive hygiene measures must be implemented." Second, in the event of infection, measures exist to limit the risks. A drug treatment, valaciclovir, "limits transmission to the fetus," reminds the HAS.