CMV The Silent Virus That All Pregnant Women Should Know About
THE MAJORITY OF PREGNANT WOMEN HAVE NOT HEARD OF A VIRUS THAT IS NOW THE LEADING NONGENETIC CAUSE OF DISABILITY IN NEWBORNS, ACCORDING TO A NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES. BY: JO FORD Kate Daly, a mother of four children including a set of twins born with congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) in 2010, wants to help educate pregnant women and physicians about the dangers of CMV and how they can minimize their exposure to it during pregnancy to keep both mother and baby healthy. “My son William was diagnosed at 3 weeks of age with permanent hearing loss caused by CMV. I was shocked to find out that there was something I could have done to try and prevent it and I hadn’t been told,” says Daly. “I would like to see pregnant women be informed of CMV and advised to practise basic hygiene if it can help keep babies alive and healthy.” William’s twin Emmaline has been extremely fortunate, with the virus only seeming to cause her a mild developmental delay. Kate started the CMV Association of Australia when she realised there was little support for families in the same position. “I felt incredibly alone at the beginning, it was very scary and I wished at that time I had someone to talk to, someone that knew what I was going through.”
What is it? Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in healthy people causes a mild, flu-like illness that can last for a few days or weeks. Some people might not even know that they have it. In susceptible people, such as those with suppressed immunity or for unborn babies or pregnant mothers, CMV can be more dangerous, even life-threatening. Many adults have already been exposed to it in their childhood but a few percent of women will have their first infection in their pregnancy.
How can it be spread? Through coughing, contact with blood, urine or faeces or via the mucous membranes such as the mouth and genitals. Because the first infection often happens during early childhood, childcare workers are at greater risk. Like HSV (Herpes Simplex Virus) which causes cold sores, once a person has contracted CMV they will carry it for life. The infection lies dormant inside the body and can erupt without warning although, again, this does not usually cause symptoms and it rarely causes problems in pregnancies. 68
Peninsula Kids – Autumn 2016