Cytomegaliovirus is a viral infection that has great effect on the human population and it does not have a vaccine that has been used to prevent it. The disease is so much without symptoms one seems to be very healthy when affected though there is great danger to the pregnant mothers and their expectant children. Hence, therefore, the virus is dormant in the host for a very long time once it manifests its symptoms it becomes very dangerous. The cytomegaliovirus (CMV) affects the adult population of the US at the rate of 50% and 85% of those between the age of 40 years and above.
Therefore, the attack on any healthy person is not that serious due to the immune system being able to shun its effects in the body (http://www. mamashealth. com/infect/cyto. asp Retrieved on 05/05/2008). Symptoms and transmission of CMV The initial period of attack on the host by the disease is called primary infection. After which the virus goes inactive, after a while it re-emerges with symptoms, and this is the reactivation stage or the infection period. The infection period does come about when someone has gotten a re-infection or she is pregnant.
The period that it manifests itself in the host is between three and twelve weeks. However, the symptoms defer with the immune of the patient attacked that is the reason for the long incubation period (http://www. deir. qld. gov. au/workplace/business/childcare/cmv/what/index. htm Retrieved on 05/05/2008). For transmission, it is by fluids that we exchange in many ways, such as kissing, urination, and through the mother to her unborn child through the placenta. In addition, the people who are undergoing transplants of organs also are at a high risk of the disease.
For the children that have been able to use the mother’s milk without knowing they suffer from CMV the child is highly going to be affected by the disease leading to an enlarged liver jaundice, loss of hearing, mental retardation and vision impairment (http://www. stlukeseye. com/Conditions/CMV. asp Retrieved on 05/05/2008). Patients who are immunocompromised Having seen that the disease has different stages of its manifestation there is also a group of people who are attacked and the CMV causes great effects on the patient and this are the immunocompromised people.
Therefore, at any time the disease gets a chance of attacking such a person it tend to be more aggressive. Hence, one who has the CMV hepatitis will have a fulminant liver failure. Expectant mothers and congenital infection CMV that affects the human is called the HCMV that gives infections that lead to congenital abnormalities and they are an association of the TORCH infections. The abnormalities do arise from diseases caused by toxoplasmosis, Rubella, herpes simplex and HCMV, among many other diseases. Infections that do occur congenitally are due to the reactivation on the mother during pregnancy and due to their low seroprevalence.
The disease is more common in the countries that are more socioeconomic than the poor countries as the expectant mothers in these countries are seropositive. In the industrialized communities the seronegative mothers transmit the disease to their children at a rate of 8% and the born children between 22% 0 38% will have the symptoms. These symptoms include pneumonia, gastrointestinal, neurological disease, and retinal infections (http://69. 7. 225. 164/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/cytomegalovirus. html Retrieve on 05/05/2008).