Description
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a mostly harmless strain of the herpes simplex virus (HSV). If you are healthy it usually wont have any real effect on you, but for the very young, very old, and people with a suppressed or impaired immune system this illness can cause a serious problem. Like other forms of the herpes virus , CMV is incurable, once infected you have it for life. The virus will usually stay in an inactive state, but it can become active from time to time.
Symptoms
If you are a healthy adult, CMV normally shows no signs of infection. If you do experience symptoms of infection it may show as a mild cases of swollen lymph glands, fever, and fatigue.
Transmission
CMV is found in all bodily fluids, is highly contagious and can be spread by any form of body fluid exchange; including kissing and sexual touching. If you are dealing with children under the age of 3, you are more at risk of being infected with CMV and should carefully wash your hands after changing diapers or dealing with any bodily fluids.
If the mother is infected or becomes infected during pregnancy her fetuses can be infected with CMV as well. Most babies infected with CMV before birth do not develop any symptoms, however it may cause issues for your child later in life, including mental retardation, blindness, deafness, or epilepsy.
