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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffIn the rare cases in which CMV causes a healthy person to become very sick, the infection may cause the following complications:
- CMV mononucleosis. This syndrome resembles infectious mononucleosis. Classic mononucleosis is caused by a different virus called Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). If you have signs and symptoms that resemble mononucleosis — a sore throat, swollen glands and tonsils, fatigue, and nausea — your doctor will test you for the antibody your body makes to fight off EBV. If it's absent, there's a good chance CMV is causing your symptoms.
- Intestinal complications. CMV infection in your intestines can result in diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain; inflammation of your colon; and blood in your stool.
- Liver complications. CMV can cause abnormal functioning of your liver and an unexplained fever.
- Nervous system complications. A variety of neurological complications have been reported as a result of CMV infection in the nervous system. These may include inflammation of your brain (encephalitis).
- Lung complications. CMV can cause inflammation of your lung tissue (pneumonitis).
Complications arising from newborn CMV infection include:
- Hearing loss
- Eye abnormalities, including central vision loss, scarring of the retina, an inflammation of the light-sensing layer of the eye (retinitis), and swelling and irritation of the eye (uveitis)
- Mental disability
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
- Autism
- Lack of coordination
- Small head
- Seizures
- Death
References
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and congenital CMV infection. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/cmv/overview.html. Accessed March 10, 2011.
- Demmler GJ, et al. Cytomegalovirus infection and disease in newborns, infants, children and adolescents. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 3, 2011.
- Neurological consequences of cytomegalovirus infection information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cytomegalic/cytomegalic.htm. Accessed March 10, 2011.
- Friel TJ. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations and treatment of cytomegalovirus infection in immunocompetent hosts. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 3, 2011.
- Dropulic LK, et al. Update on new antivirals under development for the treatment of double-stranded DNA virus infections. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2010;88:610.
- Hirsch MS. Cytomegalovirus and human herpesvirus types 6, 7, and 8. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Online. 17th ed. 2010. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill Companies. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2869361. Accessed March 10, 20111.
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