Cytomegalovirus
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that often causes no symptoms but can be serious during pregnancy or in people with weakened immune systems.
About cytomegalovirus
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus that often causes no symptoms but can be serious during pregnancy or in people with weakened immune systems.
What can cause it?
CMV spreads through body fluids and often causes no symptoms in healthy people.
It can seriously affect a fetus during pregnancy and people with weakened immune systems.
What a patient may notice
Symptoms vary from person to person. Possible signs may include:
- Often no symptoms
- Fever, fatigue, sore throat, or swollen glands
- More severe organ or vision symptoms in high-risk people
How clinicians find the cause
Blood antibody or molecular testing, urine or saliva testing in newborns, and organ-specific tests are selected according to pregnancy, immune status, and symptoms.
Treatment and next steps
- 1
Healthy people usually need supportive care only.
- 2
Antiviral medicine is used for selected severe, congenital, transplant, eye, or immune-compromised disease.
- 3
Pregnancy and newborn decisions require specialist guidance.
Supporting recovery
- Use careful hand hygiene after contact with diapers, saliva, or urine and avoid sharing utensils with young children during pregnancy.
- Do not self-interpret CMV antibody results.
What to expect
Most healthy people have no symptoms or recover from a mild mononucleosis-like illness without specific treatment, but CMV remains in the body and can reactivate. Outcomes in pregnancy, newborns, transplant recipients, and people with weakened immunity depend on the organs involved and how quickly specialized care begins.
Possible complications
- Vision loss from CMV retinitis in people with severe immune suppression
- Pneumonia, intestinal inflammation, hepatitis, or brain and nervous-system infection in high-risk patients
- Hearing loss, developmental effects, or other congenital complications when infection affects a fetus
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Arrange an evaluation when symptoms are new, worsening, interfering with normal activities, or not improving as expected.
Pregnancy with possible CMV exposure, vision changes, severe headache, confusion, breathing difficulty, or serious illness in an immunocompromised person needs prompt medical care.Get emergency help for severe trouble breathing, new chest pressure, fainting, seizure, sudden weakness on one side, uncontrolled bleeding, blue or gray lips, or a person who is difficult to wake.
Ways to lower risk
- Hand hygiene and safer sex reduce exposure.
- Transplant programs use screening and preventive protocols.
Trusted health information
This CHS patient-education page uses original wording and links to MedlinePlus for additional information.