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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you have symptoms of CMV, tests can determine whether you have the disease. Blood tests can detect proteins in your blood (antibodies) that are created by your immune system when you have CMV. Other tests can locate the virus itself in blood, other body fluids or a tissue biopsy.
Screening and testing for your baby
Testing to determine whether you've ever been infected can be important if you're pregnant. Pregnant women with antibodies have a very small chance of a reactivation infecting their unborn child.
When new infection is detected during pregnancy, you may consider amniocentesis, in which your doctor obtains and examines a sample of amniotic fluid to determine whether the fetus has the infection. Occasionally the need for such testing arises when abnormalities that may be caused by CMV or other infectious diseases are seen on ultrasound.
If you or your doctor thinks your baby may have been born with CMV (congenital CMV), it's important that he or she be tested within the first three weeks of birth. If you wait longer, tests won't be conclusive for congenital CMV, because it's possible your baby could have contracted the infection by nursing or by exposure to siblings or others who may be shedding the virus.
Screening and testing if you're immunocompromised
Testing for CMV can also be important if you have a condition that weakens your immune system. For example, if you have HIV or AIDS, and even if you don't have an active CMV infection, the fact that you carry the CMV virus means you'll need regular monitoring for complications of CMV, such as vision and hearing problems.
- 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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