Anyone can contract the CMV (cytomegalovirus). It’s extremely common and usually doesn’t produce any symptoms in healthy people. But in unborn babies and anyone with a weakened immune system, complications can be severe.
Overview
What is CMV?
CMV is a virus which anyone can catch, but which is most likely to affect unborn babies, newborns and people with weak immune systems.
How is CMV transmitted?
CMV is spread via bodily fluids.
What are CMV symptoms?
In babies, symptoms can include hearing loss, organ damage, premature birth and slow development. In severely affected adults, CMV can attack organs including the brain, lungs and liver.
How do I get tested?
Book a simple blood test now.
Did You Know?
CMV is the most common condition passed from mother to newborn baby.
What is CMV?
CMV stands for cytomegalovirus. It’s an extremely common virus that can affect anyone and, once affected, will stay in the body for life. It rarely causes more than mild (if any) symptoms in healthy children and adults, but it can pose a significant threat to unborn babies, infants and young children, and adults with weakened immune systems.
Symptoms of CMV
Symptoms vary (in terms of specifics and severity) depending on age. In healthy adults, CMV symptoms – if they are felt at all – may feel like flu or glandular fever and can include fatigue, muscle aches and a sore throat. Getting plenty of rest and staying well-hydrated should be enough to encourage the virus to pass without drama.
In adults with weakened immune systems (i.e. those who have recently had an operation, have a debilitating illness and particularly those with AIDS), CMV complications can be severe. They can include:
- Blindness
- Pneumonia
- Confusion, headaches and other results of nervous system infection
- Colitis, liver damage, nausea, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and other issues associated with the digestive tract (i.e. the route food takes through your body from throat to rectum).
CMV symptoms in babies
CMV can pose a threat to unborn babies and infants. Around 40% of women infected with CMV during pregnancy will pass the CMV to their babies. The risk is much less where a mother already has CMV before she becomes pregnant.
Not all symptoms of CMV will be apparent at birth. Some could take several months or even years to become clear.
Symptoms can include:
- Premature birth or low birth weight
- Deafness
- Impaired vision
- Microencephaly (an unusually small head)
- Spleen or liver problems
- Jaundice (yellow skin)
- A bruise-like rash
- Seizures and other nervous system disorders
How can this test help me?
As an adult, CMV only presents a real risk if you have a weak immune system or if you are (or planning to become) pregnant. If you are suffering flu-like symptoms, this test can help provide certainty over whether you have CMV.
The test can also ensure early diagnosis and treatment for foetuses to reduce the risk presented by CMV.
How do I get tested?
To get tested please contact Better2Know your Body on the number above or click book now.