Cytomegalovirus

Cytomegalovirus (say: "si-toe-meg-ah-low-vi-russ"), or CMV, is a virus that infects cells and causes them to become enlarged. People are usually infected by the time they are 2 years old or during their teenage years. Many people are infected with CMV and don't even know it. CMV usually does not cause long-term problems. However, CMV can cause problems in a newborn if the mother gets the infection during pregnancy.

CMV gets into body fluids, such as saliva, urine, semen or breast milk. This is called shedding. CMV is spread through intimate contact with the body fluids of someone who is shedding the virus. It can be spread from one person to another by having sex. CMV can rarely be transmitted by blood transfusion or organ transplantation.

In child care centers, as many as 70 percent of children age 1 to 3 can shed the virus. Careful handwashing with soap and water may help prevent the spread of CMV.

Usually, there are no symptoms or only mild symptoms. A few people will have symptoms that are similar to mononucleosis (such as a sore throat, fever, headache and tiredness). People who have weakened immune systems because they have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or because they received an organ transplant may have severe symptoms.

Because CMV usually doesn't cause symptoms, your doctor may not know that you have CMV. If you do have symptoms, your doctor may test your blood to look for CMV. If you have HIV and CMV, your doctor may recommend that you visit an eye doctor to find out whether the virus has infected your eyes. People with HIV should be sure to let their doctor know if they are having any painless blurring of their vision, "floaters" only in one eye, light flashes, areas of blindness or shortness of breath.

If your immune system is weakened, your doctor may use one of several different medicines to treat CMV infection. However, because CMV is a virus, antibiotics won't work against it. If your body's immune system is normal, your body should be able to control the infection on its own.