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Advocating for Newborn CMV Screening through Hospital-Based Initiatives

Author: Maggie Kettler, AuD CMV newborn screening has increased tremendously in the past decade, with many states implementing the screening through legislative efforts. However, CMV screening legislation is not a realistic avenue in all states. In this blog post, we hear from Maggie Kettler, AuD, who has helped to lead successful efforts to increase CMV newborn screening in her home state of Ohio. In this post she discusses successes, challenges, and advice she has for advocates in other states. 

After a pregnant friend's CMV diagnosis, a pediatrician takes action

National CMV recently had the chance to speak with Dr. Keren Shahar-Nissan, a pediatrician at Schneider Medical Center of Israel, who has launched a Valacyclovir study in the wake of a friend being diagnosed with CMV infection during her pregnancy. With limited funding and increasing enrollment, Dr. Shahar-Nissan, is hoping for an increased appreciation and enthusiasm towards the prevention of congenital CMV infection. 

Ultrasound detection of congenital CMV infection

Tens of thousands of babies are born in the United States with congenital CMV every year. For many of these babies, possible signs of CMV infection were likely visible during pregnancy on ultrasound.

How has congenital CMV impacted your life?

Author: Parent Perspective National CMV is helping to produce a display that will communicate the impact of congenital CMV, not just on children, but on their parents and families. We realize that countless families struggle to cope with a congenital CMV diagnosis in their child and will also, unfortunately, experience additional stress and difficulty both inside and outside of the family home. We would like to capture these thoughts and insights from those parents and family members who are willing to participate and to display them anonymously to help educate the public and professionals about the true impact of congenital CMV within the family and home. 

Dr. Stanley Plotkin talks CMV vaccine research

Dr. Stanley Plotkin has such a storied vaccine development career that one might say he wrote the book on vaccines. In fact, he did and his book “Vaccines”, now in its 6th edition, is the standard medical reference. Dr. Plotkin’s background reads like a roadmap of 20th century infectious disease—polio, rubella, rotavirus, rabies, and varicella (chicken pox). His career has been spent on the development of these vaccines and he now advises and influences clinical practice, academia, vaccine policy, as well as industry. Fortunately, Dr. Plotkin is also the leading advocate for a CMV vaccine and recently spoke with National CMV’s Janelle Greenlee about the status and future of CMV vaccine development.  

Final CMV awareness infographic available

2016's National CMV Awareness Month has concluded and we want to thank all of our supporters for helping us to make this June's awareness campaign a success! Each week of June featured a different themed awareness infographic, as well as ideas for photos and social media posts that helped our community to educate their family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors about the dangers of congenital CMV. Keep June awareness going all year long and post the final, complete CMV awareness infographic featuring all four themes and corresponding CMV facts!

June is National CMV Awareness Month - Week 4 "More about CMV"

Want to help raise awareness of CMV? Join National CMV’s hashtag awareness campaign and share your photos and stories on social media! This June, National CMV is launching a new website-based tagboard, a curated public display of all social media posts with the hashtags #stopcmv and #cmvawarenessEach week of June will have a different themed awareness infographic, as well as ideas for a weekly photo that you can post to social media to tell the world about your experience with CMV. 

June is National CMV Awareness Month - Week 3 "CMV is preventable"

Want to help raise awareness of CMV? Join National CMV’s hashtag awareness campaign and share your photos and stories on social media! This June, National CMV is launching a new website-based tagboard, a curated public display of all social media posts with the hashtags #stopcmv and #cmvawareness. Each week of June will have a different themed awareness infographic, as well as ideas for a weekly photo that you can post to social media to tell the world about your experience with CMV. 

June is National CMV Awareness Month - Week 2 "CMV is serious"

Want to help raise awareness of CMV? Join National CMV’s hashtag awareness campaign and share your photos and stories on social media! This June, National CMV is launching a new website-based tagboard, a curated public display of all social media posts with the hashtags #stopcmv and #cmvawarenessEach week of June will have a different themed awareness infographic, as well as ideas for a weekly photo that you can post to social media to tell the world about your experience with CMV. 

June is National CMV Awareness Month - Week 1 "CMV is common"

Want to help raise awareness of CMV? Join National CMV’s hashtag awareness campaign and share your photos and stories on social media! This June, National CMV is launching a new website-based tagboard, a curated public display of all social media posts with the hashtags #stopcmv and #cmvawarenessEach week of June will have a different themed awareness infographic, as well as ideas for a weekly photo that you can post to social media to tell the world about your experience with CMV. 

Acquired CMV: Risks and Treatments

Acquired CMV infection is when a person is infected with CMV after birth, whether during childhood or adulthood. Acquired CMV is actually very common with anywhere from 50-80% of adults in the United States having been infected with CMV by the time they reach 40 years old. However, acquired CMV can cause serious problems for people who are immunocompromised and those who have weakened immune systems.