Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that can infect almost anyone. Once infected, your body retains the virus for life. Most people don't know they have CMV because it rarely causes problems in healthy people.
But if you're pregnant or have a weakened immune system, CMV is cause for concern. A woman who develops an active CMV infection during pregnancy can pass the virus to her baby, who might then experience signs and symptoms. For people with compromised immunity, especially due to organ transplantation, CMV infection can be fatal. CMV spreads from person to person through body fluids, such as blood, saliva, urine, semen and breast milk. There's no cure for the virus. However, medications can help treat newborns and people with weak immune systems.
Symptoms
Most people infected with CMV who are otherwise healthy experience few if any signs and symptoms. People at greater risk of signs and symptoms of CMV include:
- Newborns infected with CMV before birth (congenital CMV).
- Infants who become infected during birth or shortly afterward (perinatal CMV). This group includes babies infected through breast milk.
- People with weakened immune systems, for example due to organ transplant or HIV infection.
Babies
Most babies with congenital CMV appear healthy at birth.
A few babies with congenital CMV who appear healthy at birth can develop signs over time — sometimes not for months or years after birth. The most common of these late-occurring signs are hearing loss and developmental delay. A small number of babies may also develop vision problems.
Babies with congenital CMV who are sick at birth tend to have significant signs and symptoms, including:
- Premature birth
- Low birth weight
- Yellow skin and eyes (jaundice)
- Enlarged and poorly functioning liver
- Purple skin splotches or a rash or both
- Abnormally small head (microencephaly)
- Enlarged spleen
- Pneumonia
- Seizures
People with weakened immunity
If your immune system is weakened, you might experience more-serious signs and symptoms affecting your:
- Eyes
- Lungs
- Liver
- Esophagus
- Stomach
- Intestines
- Brain
Otherwise healthy adults
Most people infected with CMV who are otherwise healthy experience few if any signs or symptoms. When first infected, some adults may have symptoms similar to infectious mononucleosis, including:
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Muscle aches
CMV mononucleosis is less likely than infectious mononucleosis to cause enlarged lymph nodes and spleen.
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