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Welcome to Chloe's Web Page.
Imagine you had a child who was deaf.
Imagine you had a child who was blind.
Imagine you had a child who was Brain injured.
Imagine you had a child with Cerebral Palsy.
Imagine you had a child with autism.
Imagine you had a child with epilepsy.
Imagine you have a child, who has all of these and more.
Imagine waiting to hear your unborn child's' cry and hear only the silence of stillbirth.
Medical Encyclopedia: Congenital cytomegalovirus
URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001343.htm
Alternative names
CMV - congenital; Congenital CMV
Definition
Congenital cytomegalovirus is a cluster of findings associated with infection of the fetus by cytomegalovirus.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Congenital cytomegalovirus is caused when an infected mother passes CMV virus to the fetus through the placenta. The mother's illness may be subclinical (without symptoms or asymptomatic), and she may be unaware that any problems exist.
The majority of congenitally infected children are asymptomatic. The symptomatic infant is characteristically born with a petechial rash (a rash that looks like fine purplish-colored dots), a large spleen and liver, jaundice, inflammation of the retina, intracranial calcifications (mineral deposits within the brain), and a small head (microcephaly).
Only about 1 out of 10 infants congenitally infected with CMV are thought to exhibit these symptoms.
Symptoms
Low birth weight
Small head size (microcephaly)
Seizures
Rash at birth (petechiae)
Jaundice
Signs and tests
In examining the body, the health care provider, may also find:
enlarged liver
enlarged spleen
Abnormal breath sounds indicating pneumonia
Psychomotor retardation
Tests include:
Urine culture for CMV virus in the first 2-3 weeks of life
Antibody titer against CMV for both the mother and infant
CT scan or ultrasound of the head (which can show cerebral calcifications if they are present)
Bilirubin level and blood tests for liver function (to assess the extent of jaundice and liver involvement)
Fundoscopy (which may show chorioretinitis)
CBC (which may show anemia)
X-ray of the chest (which may show pneumonia)
TORCH screen
Treatment
There is no specific treatment for congenital CMV. Treatment focuses on specific problems such as physical therapy and appropriate schooling of children with psychomotor retardation. Experimental treatment with the drug ganciclovir may reduce hearing loss that infected infants suffer later in life.
Expectations (prognosis)
Between 45-90% of infants who have symptoms of their infection at birth will have neurologic abnormalities later in life, while only about 15% of infants without symptoms will have these problems.
Complications
Psychomotor retardation
Deafness
Calling your health care provider
Have the baby examined promptly if your baby was not examined by a health care provider shortly after birth and you suspect that the head is small or if other symptoms of congenital CMV are present.
If your baby has congenital CMV, it is important to follow the health care provider's recommendations for well-baby examinations. That way, any growth and development problems can be identified early, and appropriate therapy can begin promptly.
Prevention
Cytomegalovirus is almost everywhere in the environment, and is almost impossible to avoid.
Chloe Elizabeth Davis
Born: 06-18-03 Weight: 4 lbs 1 oz Length: 15 in
Journal
Sunday, October 12, 2008 4:40 PM CDT Its hard to believe that Chloe is 5 years old. all of you can visit her new web page at http://web.mac.com/luvmykidz/congenitalcmvchildren/Welcome.html There you can see videos and pictures of Chloe. These days we seem to be dealing ttrying to find an answer to behavorial problems. More and more the mention of autism has come up. High functioning of course. Not that I am complaining. But a deaf, brain injured,hyperactive, aggressive, insomniac, high functioning Cerebral Palsy, high functioning austic child can be quite a handful!
Read Journal History
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