Effects of Cytomegalovirus Essay Example
Effects of Cytomegalovirus Essay Example

Effects of Cytomegalovirus Essay Example

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  • Pages: 2 (412 words)
  • Published: May 13, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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CMV, also known as Cytomegalovirus, is one of the largest and most common forms of the herpes viruses that infects all ages of people. Most people infected with CMV shown no signs or symptoms, yet can cause diseases in people who have weakened immune systems and even babies infected before birth, which means 1 in 150 children are born with a type of CMV called Congenital CMV Infection. There is no available vaccine for preventing congenital (present at birth) CMV disease.

However, a few CMV vaccines are being tested in humans, including live attenuated (weakened) virus vaccines and vaccines that contain only pieces of the virus. The Institute of Medicine has ranked the development of a CMV vaccine as a highest priority because of the lives it would save and the disabilities it would prevent. It may be a number of years before t

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here is a Food and Drug Administration-approved CMV vaccine.

Ins and Outs of CMV

CMV- also known as cytomegalovirus is one of the largest forms of herpes viruses that infects most people in some part of there life. Most of these infections are harmless, but can be extremely problematic in some cases. Transmission of this virus from pregnant woman to the unborn can cause permanent disabilities, and will weaken the immune system and can cause serious disease.

Type of microbe: DNA virus belonging to the herpes virus family

How this disease spreads, CMV is mostly spread through body fluids, including saliva, tears, blood, urine, semen, and vaginal fluids. Pregnant women can pass this virus to there unborn babies either during pregnancy or by birth. Infection with CMV is a lifelong, however, the virus is only spread durin

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initial infection, and most people do not show any symptoms of an infection.

Who is at risk: Almost all people will become infected at some time in there life, but young kids are more likely to transmit CMV than an older adult. Pregnant women, who are most often infected after contact with saliva or urine of young children, can pass CMV to there fetuses in during pregnancy. Children born with congenital CMV infections are at risk for developing permanent disabilities. People with weakened immune systems are also more at risk for more severe disease. This disease affects more than 100 adults in the United States, by the time they are 40 years old. About 1 of every 5 children born with this disease will develop permanent problems such as hearing loss or developmental disabilities due to the infection.

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