Shots might prevent some birth defects caused by cytomegalovirus infections in moms-to-be An experimental vaccine is effective half the time in stopping cytomegalovirus infection in women in their child-bearing years, researchers report in the March 19 New England Journal of Medicine. No vaccine currently exists for cytomegalovirus, which can cause birth defects when it infects a pregnant woman. Because of this risk, vaccine researchers have targeted the virus for decades — without any clear benefit until now. “This is the first vaccine that really shows prevention from infection with cytomegalovirus,” says Walla Dempsey, a microbiologist and immunologist at the National...