What is congenital CMV?
By: Tina L. Konczol
Congenital CMV (CMV that is passed from an infected mother to her fetus) can
cause a wide range of disabilities in children whose mothers caught the virus
for the first time during pregnancy, mostly due to abnormal development of the
unborn child's central nervous system. These disabilities, ranging from mild
to severe, include mental retardation, cerebral palsy, visual impairment,
epilepsy and hearing loss. One out of a hundred infants are born with CMV
infection. Most appear to be perfectly normal at birth, and only a small
percentage of these infants will develop disabilities later on. Some infants
do have apparent signs of CMV at birth, and these infants usually have more
severe disabilities.
Researchers are currently trying to develop a vaccine for CMV, but since it
is not available at the present time, knowing your CMV antibody status and
preventing CMV are important. A person can have a simple laboratory test
performed to determine if antibodies to CMV are present, indicating a past
infection. If the test is positive, the results also may indicate if the
virus is currently active. If a female that is contemplating pregnancy
receives test results indicating a current primary infection she should be
strongly advised to postpone pregnancy until the infection is inactive. The
safest scenario for pregnancy is when the female receives test results
indicating antibodies are present, but she is not currently infected. The
risk to the fetus is extremely small if the mother's virus is not a primary
infection or if the virus is not curently active because her existing
antibodies should protect the fetus from CMV. If a person's test for
antibodies is negative, they are susceptible to catching CMV, so simple
hygienic precautions should be taken to reduce the chances of catching the
virus. These precautions are extremely important for pregnant females or
females planning pregnancy, especially if she has frequent contact with young
children. These precautions are also important for her spouse or partner and
other children she has frequent contact with since they could catch CMV and
then transmit it to her. The simple hygienic precautions are:
These precautions should also be practiced with persons known to be shedding
CMV or likely to be shedding CMV or other illnesses. Since other diseases and
viruses can also cause similar damage to a developing fetus, pregnant females
should avoid intimate contact with all ill persons.
Tina L. Konczol
CMV (cytomegalovirus) is a member of the Herpes group of viruses. It is a
very common virus that infects people of all ages and in all parts of the
world. CMV is spread by person-to-person contact with body fluids (urine,
saliva, blood, tears, semen, breastmilk, etc.) from a person who is excreting
the virus, from mother to fetus, or by blood transfusion or organ
transplantation. CMV is very common among children, especially toddlers who
attend group child care. Most people will catch the virus before they reach
adulthood, but usually will be free of any signs or symptoms of infection. An
infected person with no symptoms or knowledge of the infection could easily be
unintentionally passing it to others. On occasion, a person can develop
temporary symptoms that are similar to mononucleosis: fever, sore throat,
fatigue and swollen glands. CMV infection is not a serious problem to the
vast majority of people, but can harm some groups of people. CMV poses the
greatest risk to developing fetuses. Other areas of concern are the risk of
infection to people who work with infants and children and the risk of
infection to the person whose natural immunity to infection is underdeveloped
or supressed, such as newborns, organ transplant recipients, AIDS/HIV infected
persons and chemotherapy patients. During an active infection, the virus is
excreted in body fluids. During the primary CMV infection (the first time a
person gets the virus) the body's immune system produces antibodies and immune
cells. After recovery the virus itself remains in cells of the body in an
inactive or latent state, but can be reactivated under certain conditions.
1. Do not kiss young children on the mouth, cheek, or hands. Instead,
kiss them on the forehead or top of the head, or give them a big, long
hug.
2. Do not share food, drink, utensils, or toothbrushes, especially with
young children.
3. Wash your hands after changing diapers or after contact with a child's
saliva, or other body fluids.
also credit to:
National Congenital CMV Disease Registry
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas