What is the outlook for Neurological Consequences of Cytomegalovirus Infection ?
For most people CMV infection is not a problem. However, two groups of people are at high risk of neurological or other severe symptoms that may lead to long-term effects:
                
- Unborn infants whose mothers have CMV infection. CMVis the most common congenital infection in the U.S. Most infants will have no permanent health consequences, but a small number will have at birth or will develop long-term neurological conditions, such as hearing loss, visual impairment, seizures, or disabilities f mental or physical function. The highest risk of these severe effects on the fetus is for women who acquire CMV infection for the first time during pregnancy. The risk is much lower for women who have had CMV infection in the past before pregnancy. - Immunocompromised individuals. CMV infection may be severe in solid organ or blood cell transplant recipients, people with untreated or end-stage HIV-AIDS, or others with altered immune function. Infection may affect the brain (encephalitis), spinal cord (myelitis), eye (retinitis), or other organs such as the lungs (pneumonia) or intestinal gract (gastritis, enteritis, or colitis). In addition, transplant recipients may develop organ rejection or graft-versus-host disease associated with CMV infection.