Barbara
Message 1 of 1
I am a student nurse, and I have just begun to research CMV. I would like to say that I am not a carrier, but I have just read that studies estimate that 80% of the adult population has evidence of CMV infection. So who knows? As Ann knows by experience, one very common way of contracting it is by contact with nasal secretions, saliva, and urine (also semen, feces, etc.), so child care workers are at risk. For most healthy individuals who are infected, supposedly there are few or no symptoms. For fetuses in utero, newborns, and the immunocompromised (including especially those with HIV/AIDS), it's quite serious. All of your postings have really opened my eyes to the pain this disease can cause. The saddest thing, and the subject of my research, is the problems that CMV causes for infants who are most affected. I know that those without symptoms at birth may never exhibit problems later, and that their development as compared to other children by school age is usually normal. But what are the characteristics and medical implications for those who do have signs of the disease at birth? If you have any information or story of your own, please feel free to reply. So many parents have never heard of CMV. I myself have three children, and never heard of it until this year. We need to make others aware of this problem, don't we?