What are the symptoms?
CMV infection in pregnant women
If a pregnant woman has a healthy immune system, CMV infection develops with few symptoms or usually goes unnoticed. Only a fifth of women show signs of a cold such as headache, body aches, slight swollen lymph nodes, fever and fatigue.
CMV infection of the baby in the womb
About 10 percent of all babies infected with CMV develop symptoms in utero, and some of the damage is irreparable and can lead to physical and mental disability in the baby.
- jaundice (jaundice)
- Bleeding into the skin (petechiae).
- Liver and spleen enlargement
- Microcephaly (very small head)
- Calcifications in the brain
- Harm to the eyes
- Later in childhood: developmental delay and hearing disturbances
CMV infection of a breastfed infant
Premature babies born before 33 weeks of gestation and weighing less than 1,500 grams can contract the disease through breastfeeding: liver damage, skin bleeding or pneumonia may result.
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