INFORMATION FOR WOMEN WHO HAVE CYTOMEGALOVIRUS INFECTION WHILE PREGNANT OR BREASTFEEDING

What is cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy?

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a virus that commonly infects people of all ages. Many people carry the virus without being sick. In healthy people, the immune system keeps the virus in check, usually with no symptoms. However, the virus remains some kind of "sleeping state" called dormancy and, when a person’s immune system weakens, it can become active, making the person very ill. Notoriously, this happens after infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) develops into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, even in healthy people, including in pregnant women, CMV can cause a type of hepatitis (inflammation of the liver), or a type of mononucleosis (“mono”), an infection that typically produces fever, sore throat, swollen glands, and fatigue. In people whose immune systems are very weak, CMV also can cause problems in various other organs, including the lungs and eyes, and much of the gastrointestinal tract.