Infection with the cytomegalovirus (CMV), a kind of sexually transmitted disease but one that is also readily spread by other forms of bodily contact, including kissing. CMV, a member of the herpes simplex family, is a common virus, infecting most mature adults; and like its relatives, CMV often lies dormant in the body, becoming reactivated from time to time. In most healthy adults, CMV has few serious consequences, causing flulike symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, and swollen lymph glands, similar to infectious mononucleosis. But CMV can be quite dangerous to infants, whose immune systems are not yet fully developed; to people whose immune systems are damaged or being suppressed, as during aids or chemotherapy; and to pregnant women, who can pass it on to the fetus, with resulting birth defects, such as mental retardation, ear and hearing problems, epilepsy various deformities, and even death. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases estimates that CMV is the “leading cause of congenital infection,” affecting 6,000 babies a year. Various diagnostic tests are not very reliable, nor are there yet any effective drugs, though some are being tested. Some doctors have cautioned pregnant women who work in child care that they are at increased risk of catching the infection from the young children in their care, but they note that the virus is so widespread and readily transmitted that it is hard to avoid. (For help and further information, including how to avoid infection.
This infection caused by cytomegalovirus may cause such symptoms as enlarged lymph nodes, weakness, fever, and enlarged liver and spleen. In AIDS patients, cytomegalovirus may cause encephalitis, retinitis, diarrhea and weight loss.
A persistent, latent infection of white blood cells caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV), a beta-group herpesvirus. Approx. 60% of people over 35 have been infected with CMV, usually during childhood or early adulthood; the incidence appears to be higher in those of low socioeconomic status. Primary infection is usually mild in people with normal immune function, but CMV can be reactivated and cause overt disease in pregnant women, AIDS patients, or those receiving immunosuppressive therapy following organ transplantation. CMV has been isolated from saliva, urine, semen, breast milk, feces, blood and vaginal secretions of those infected; it is usually transmitted through contact with infected secretions that retain the virus for months to years.