A consensus report from the International Congenital Cytomegalovirus Recommendations Group was recently published in the UK medical journal, the Lancet. The report, entitled “Congenital cytomegalovirus infection in pregnancy and the neonate: consensus recommendations for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy”, is the result of an international consensus meeting held in Brisbane, Australia at the 5th International Congenital Cytomegalovirus Conference. Two key consensus recommendations from the report address issues being explored by several state health departments and legislatures in the United States, including newborn screening for CMV and CMV education to at-risk patients and communities. Read more on the blog...
Cytomegalovirus, commonly referred to as CMV, is a member of the herpesvirus family. It is common and typically harmless to the general population – between 50 and 80 percent of people in the United States have had a CMV infection before the age of 40. Once CMV is in a person’s body, it stays there for life. CMV is the most common viral infection that infants are born with in the United States. Approximately 1-4 percent of uninfected women have a primary (or first) CMV infection during a pregnancy, and about 40 percent of women who become infected with CMV for the first time during pregnancy pass the virus to their babies.
CMV is preventable! Every pregnant woman is at risk for acquiring CMV. There are simple and effective prevention measures you and your loved ones can take to mitigate the risk of CMV transmission during pregnancy. If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, talk with your doctor about CMV.
CMV can present a critical problem for babies who are infected with CMV before birth, referred to as congenital CMV. Roughly 30,000 children are born with congenital CMV each year, and more than 5,000 children suffer from permanent problems.