Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common virus which can infect people of all ages. Most people who are infected show no signs or symptoms. A pregnant woman who is infected with CMV can pass the virus to her developing baby. When a baby is born with CMV infection, it is called congenital CMV (cCMV).
You can reduce your risk of getting CMV and passing it to your unborn baby by avoiding certain behaviors and practicing good hand hygiene.
These practices cannot eliminate your risk of getting CMV but may lessen the chances.
In the most severe cases of infection, cCMV can cause pregnancy loss or death of a child. About 1 out of every 200 babies is born with cCMV infection. About 1 out of every 5 babies with cCMV infection will have long-term health problems.
Some babies with signs of cCMV infection at birth may have long-term health problems, such as:
Some babies without signs of cCMV infection at birth may later develop hearing loss, even if they pass their newborn hearing screening test and show no signs of hearing loss at birth.
Preventable: CMV from OSDH on Vimeo.
Oklahoma Birth Defects Registry Oklahoma State Department of Health 123 Robert S. Kerr Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73102 Phone: 405-426-8220 Fax: 405-900-7552 Email: OBDR@health.ok.gov
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