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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffThere's no cure for CMV, and treatment for the virus generally isn't necessary or recommended for healthy children and adults.
Newborns and people with compromised immune systems, however, do need treatment when they're experiencing symptoms of CMV infection, such as pneumonia. The kind of treatment depends on the symptoms and their severity.
If treatment is needed, it's most often in the form of antiviral drugs. Antiviral drugs slow down the virus reproduction, but can't destroy it. Researchers are studying new medications and vaccines to treat and prevent CMV.
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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