CMV

Did you know that there is a virus called Cytomegalovirus that causes few if any symptoms in healthy adults, but can cause lasting and and serious consequences in a child being carried by a woman who catches this virus for the first time?

Many people don't know anything about cytomegalovirus and most people have already been exposed to it by the time they are adults.  They probably didn't know they had it, how often do we get mild viruses and never really know where they came from.  But if you are a pregnant woman, who hasn't spent much time around young children and has gotten CMV for the first time, you have exposed your child to a virus that can cause him/her to have cerebral palsy, hearing, visual and mental disabilities.

According to "Stop CMV-The CMV Action Network", " CMV is the most common congenital (meaning from birth) viral infection in the United States. 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV in the United States. More children will have disabilities due to congenital CMV than other well-known infections and syndromes, including Down Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Spina Bifida, and Pediatric HIV/AIDS."

Since CMV is present in bodily fluids, pregnant Mothers, daycare workers, teachers and nurses are at a higher risk for passing it on to their unborn child.  Universal precautions should be used to help decrease the risk of passing CMV from child to adult.

Currently there is no vaccine available to prevent congenital CMV.