Cytomegalovirus (cmv) infection in newborns

[Hina Muqadas]

Cytomegalovirus is a common virus that usually causes few or no problems but can cause serious illness in infants who are infected before birth or around the time of birth.

Cytomegalovirus infection is caused by a virus.
Most newborns do not have symptoms, but some do depending on when they were infected.
Doctors diagnose the infection by identifying the virus in a sample of urine, saliva, blood, or tissue.
Newborns may develop neurologic problems such as hearing loss.
Handwashing can help prevent spread of the virus.
Cytomegalovirus infection cannot be cured, but some antiviral drugs can limit the problems caused by infection.

(See also Overview of Infections in Newborns and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection in adults.)
Pregnant women may acquire cytomegalovirus (CMV) easily through contact with infected people.
When a baby contracts CMV infection in the uterus, it is called congenital CMV infection. When a baby develops the infection immediately before, during, or shortly after birth, it is called perinatal CMV infection. CMV infection is the most common congenital viral infection.
A woman can pass the virus to her fetus during pregnancy if the virus crosses the placenta (the organ that provides nourishment to the fetus) and infects the fetus. The infection in the woman during pregnancy may be a first-time infection or the reactivation of a previous infection (CMV can remain in the body in an inactive state). The woman may not have any symptoms.
Newborns may also become infected during passage through the birth canal, through breast milk containing the virus, or through a contaminated blood transfusion.
Premature infants are at higher risk of developing symptoms from CMV infection because they are less likely to have protective antibodies from their mother.
CMV infection may cause problems in newborns depending on whether they were infected before or after birth.