What are symptoms of CMV?
If you have symptoms of primary CMV, they’re mild and include: Fatigue. Swollen glands. Fever….Babies born with CMV might have:
- Premature delivery.
- Small size or low birth weight.
- Bruise-like rashes.
- Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice)
- Swollen liver and spleen.
- Small head (microcephaly)
- Seizures.
- Hearing loss.
What are the long-term effects of CMV?
About 40 to 60% of infants born with signs of congenital CMV disease at birth will have long-term health problems, such as: Hearing loss. Vision loss. Intellectual disability.
What is the treatment for CMV?
Ganciclovir treatment The drug of choice for treatment of CMV disease is intravenous ganciclovir, although valganciclovir may be used for nonsevere CMV treatment in selected cases. Ganciclovir is a nucleoside analogue that inhibits DNA synthesis in the same manner as acyclovir.
What are the congenital abnormalities associated with CMV infection?
Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) Microcephaly (small head) Low birth weight. Hepatosplenomegaly (enlarged liver and spleen)
What happens if CMV is left untreated?
If untreated, it can spread throughout the body, infecting organ after organ. It may cause respiratory problems, damage to the central nervous system, bleeding ulcers in the digestive system, and CMV retinitis, which can lead to blindness.
What organs are affected by CMV?
Occasionally, CMV can cause mononucleosis or hepatitis (liver problem). People with weakened immune systems who get CMV can have more serious symptoms affecting the eyes, lungs, liver, esophagus, stomach, and intestines. Babies born with CMV can have brain, liver, spleen, lung, and growth problems.
How is CMV diagnosed?
The standard laboratory test for diagnosing congenital CMV infection is polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on saliva, with urine usually collected and tested for confirmation. The reason for the confirmatory test on urine is that most CMV seropositive mothers shed CMV in their breast milk.
What does CMV do to the body?
CMV can infect the stomach and intestines, causing fever, abdominal pain, blood in the stool, and inflammation of the colon (colitis). Inflammation can also occur in the liver (hepatitis), lung (pneumonitis), and brain (encephalitis). Infection in the eye (retinitis) can cause blindness.