What does CMV do to a baby?
What does CMV do to a baby?
If you get infected with CMV during pregnancy, it may cause pregnancy loss or serious health problems in your baby, including preterm birth or low birthweight, or hearing loss at birth or later in life. CMV is the leading cause of hearing loss in this country, causing 1 in 3 cases of hearing loss.
Are babies tested for CMV at birth?
Testing for congenital cytomegalovirus (congenital CMV) is often performed in infants who do not pass their newborn hearing screening. Your baby’s doctor or the state screening program will contact you to arrange for your child to have additional testing.
Why would you test a baby for CMV?
If a baby presents as symptomatic, meaning the baby has obvious physical symptoms of being born with a potential viral infection, congenital CMV (cCMV) can be diagnosed by testing a newborn baby’s saliva, urine, or blood using polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) testing.
How common is CMV in newborns?
It’s very common. It affects people of all ages and in all parts of the U.S. In most cases, CMV causes mild symptoms, or no symptoms at all. But it can cause serious problems in an unborn baby or newborn.
Can a baby survive CMV?
At birth, 90% of babies born with congenital CMV will present as asymptomatic, showing no obvious and visible symptoms of the virus. These children are expected to live healthy lives, typically following standard growth and development patterns.
What are the signs of CMV at birth?
Some babies with congenital CMV infection have signs at birth, such as:
- Rash.
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes)
- Microcephaly (small head)
- Low birth weight.
- Hepatosplenomegaly (enlarged liver and spleen)
- Seizures.
- Retinitis (damaged eye retina)
Can babies with CMV be normal?
Most babies born with CMV don’t have serious health problems from the virus. Eight in 10 babies born with CMV (80 percent) never have symptoms or problems caused by the infection. About 15 in 100 babies born with CMV (15 percent) develop one or more disabilities during the first few years of life.
How did my child get CMV?
It can be spread to children through body fluids like saliva, tears, urine, blood, and even breast milk. It is often transmitted during diaper changes, while bathing, and during other close contact. Teenagers and adults transmit the virus during close contact such as kissing and sexual intercourse.
Can you have a healthy baby with CMV?
You can pass CMV to your baby If you are pregnant and have CMV, the virus in your blood can cross through your placenta and infect your developing baby. This is more likely to happen if you have a frst-time CMV infection while pregnant but can also happen if you have a subsequent infection during pregnancy.
How long do CMV kids live?
Babies born with CMV are called “congenitally infected with CMV”. Most babies with congenital CMV appear normal and are just silently infected, and will live normal lives.
How do babies get CMV?
CMV is spread from an infected person in the following ways: From direct contact with saliva or urine, especially from babies and young children. Through sexual contact. From breast milk to nursing infants.
What is the life expectancy of a child with CMV?
