What are the symptoms of CMV infection?

 Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that infects people of all ages. Most people infected with CMV show no signs or symptoms

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. However, CMV can cause serious health problems in some babies who get the virus before birth, and in people who have a weakened immune system

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Transmission

CMV is spread from an infected person in the following ways:

• Direct contact with saliva or urine, especially from babies and young children
• Through sexual contact
• Through transplanted organs and blood transfusions
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Symptoms

CMV does not usually cause symptoms. Some people get flu-like symptoms the first time they get CMV, including:

• A high temperature
• Aching muscles
• Tiredness
• Skin rash
• Feeling sick
• Sore throat
• Swollen glands
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Diagnosis

CMV infection may not be recognized immediately. Diagnosis of CMV infection is often unnecessary in healthy adults and children because treatment is unnecessary. However, doctors consider the possibility of CMV infection in the following people:

• Otherwise healthy people who have symptoms of mononucleosis that do not go away
• People who have weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS or who have had an organ transplant
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CMV Infection in Pregnancy

If a pregnant woman is infected with CMV, she can pass it to her developing baby. This is called congenital CMV, and it can cause birth defects and other health problems

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. Women can be tested for CMV prior to pregnancy, and if a woman has been exposed to a recent CMV infection, it is recommended that she wait until her CMV IgM antibody levels decline to an undetectable level, and her CMV IgG avidity index climbs to a highly favorable percentage, before trying to conceive

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CMV Test During Pregnancy

It is not recommended that doctors routinely test pregnant women for CMV infection. This is because laboratory tests cannot predict which developing babies will become infected with CMV or have long-term health problems

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. However, sometimes a pregnant woman will need to be tested for CMV when an ultrasound catches abnormalities that could be caused by CMV or another infectious disease

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.In conclusion, CMV infection is a common virus that can cause serious health problems in some people. CMV can be transmitted through direct contact with saliva or urine, sexual contact, and transplanted organs and blood transfusions. CMV does not usually cause symptoms, but some people may experience flu-like symptoms. Pregnant women can pass CMV to their developing baby, which can cause birth defects and other health problems. It is not recommended that doctors routinely test pregnant women for CMV infection, but sometimes a pregnant woman will need to be tested for CMV when an ultrasound catches abnormalities that could be caused by CMV or another infectious disease.

Citations:

[1] https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/infections/herpesvirus-infections/cytomegalovirus-cmv-infection

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5328437/

[3] https://www.cdc.gov/cmv/fact-sheets/parents-pregnant-women.html

[4] https://www.cdc.gov/cmv/clinical/overview.html

[5] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cytomegalovirus-cmv/

[6] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cmv/symptoms-causes/syc-20355358

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3152970/

[8] https://www.marchofdimes.org/find-support/topics/planning-baby/cytomegalovirus-and-pregnancy

[9] https://www.cdc.gov/cmv/overview.html

[10] https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/cytomegalovirus-cmv

[11] https://www.cdc.gov/cmv/index.html

[12] https://www.nationalcmv.org/overview/cmv-pregnancy

[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK582519/

[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6963600/

[15] https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/diseases-conditions/acute-cytomegalovirus-cmv-infection

[16] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21166-cytomegalovirus

[17] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cmv/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20355364

[18] https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/cytomegalovirus-cmv-during-pregnancy

[19] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4164178/

[20] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173811

[21] https://medlineplus.gov/cytomegalovirusinfections.html

[22] https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DPH/EHDI/CMVTestinginfoOBspdf.pdf?la=en

[23] https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/pregnancy-complications/cytomegalovirus-infection/

[24] https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-022-02004-4

[25] https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/64/1/87/2354572

[26] https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/teach-me/cytomegalovirus-what-every-pregnant-person-should-know

[27] https://www.texaschildrens.org/blog/2014/12/cmv-pregnancy-what-should-i-know

[28] https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2334-7-71

[29] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459185/

[30] https://www.vumc.org/health-wellness/news-resource-articles/cmv-exposure-pregnancy

[31] https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/43/9/1143/425223

[32] https://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions/cytomegalovirus

[33] https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/215702-overview