Spotting newborns at risk of hearing loss

Testing for cytomegalovirus in saliva can pinpoint infants with infection

A simple DNA test of saliva from a newborn can reveal whether the baby has a viral infection that can cause deafness in some cases. The DNA test is simpler and faster than the assay currently available and catches more than 97 percent of such infections, researchers report in the June 2 New England Journal of Medicine.