Thread by @ViralCarmichael

In honor of it being the last day of June—which is CMV awareness month—let’s do a thread!

Human Cytomegalovirus, or HCMV, is a human herpesvirus related to HSV (herpes), VZV (chickenpox), and EBV (causes mono). But HCMV doesn’t get enough attention. #stopCMV 1/15

HCMV is ubiquitous, which is science jargon for common. By mid-adulthood, most people are infected with HCMV. Seroprevalence (the amount of people with HCMV-specific antibodies) is more than 85% worldwide. You probably have HCMV. 2/ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30706584/

Because HCMV is a herpesvirus, once you are infected, you are infected for life. This virus is suuuuuuuper sneaky and can hide out in various cells in your body forever. We can’t cure it right now (or any herpesvirus for that matter). 3/

Thankfully HCMV doesn’t typically cause disease in people with functioning immune systems. Like I said, most of us are infected and will never even know it. But, HCMV CAN cause serious disease in certain populations. 4/

Immunocompromised people are at risk for HCMV complications. The immune system does a lot of work to control HCMV in a healthy person—without that internal control, HCMV can take over. Patients with AIDS have suffered immensely from CMV disease. 5/ hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=kb…

In addition, transplant patients are at high risk for HCMV complications. This can occur in both solid organ transplants and hematopoietic stem cell transplants. Since HCMV is so common, often the donor is CMV+, which can infect the recipient. 6/ cedars-sinai.org/health-library…

But a high risk group that most people don’t know about is pregnant people. When a pregnant person is infected with HCMV, the virus can cross the placenta and infect the developing fetus. This causes congenital CMV, which is a leading cause of birth defects in the US. 7/

HCMV is one of the very few viruses that can easily infect a fetus. Congenital CMV causes sensorineural hearing loss, microcephaly, developmental disabilities and more. Remember Zika Virus? Well HCMV affects way more infants and has low awareness. 8/ cdc.gov/cmv/overview.h…

Congenital CMV occurs in roughly every 1 in 200 pregnancies. And of those infants, about 1 in 5 will suffer significant and potentially lifelong effects from congenital infection. This affects thousands of infants every year in the US. 9/

HCMV is primary spread through direct contact with bodily fluids. The virus can be transmitted through contact with HCMV+ saliva, breastmilk, semen, and urine. Toddlers who are infected with HCMV can shed virus in the urine for up to TWO YEARS (fun fact). 10/

What’s crazy is that most people of child-bearing age have NO CLUE about the dangers HCMV poses to them and their future babies. I’ve been pregnant twice and no healthcare professional ever talked to me about the dangers of HCMV. I learned about it at a grad school seminar. 11/

Unfortunately, there is no cure for HCMV and there is no approved vaccine. There are antiviral drugs that help to mitigate virus infection and disease, but those can have side effects too. We need more HCMV research! 12/

Pregnant people who come into contact with young children are at a very high risk for contacting HCMV and passing it to their fetus. This includes childcare workers and parents of young children. Most of them don’t even know what HCMV is or why it’s dangerous to them. 13/

Thankfully, there are simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of contracting HCMV while pregnant. 1) Don’t kiss your babies on the mouth, 2) Don’t share eating utensils or pacifiers with your baby, and 3) wash your hands thoroughly after changing diapers. 14/

Finally, the National CMV foundation is a wonderful resource to learn more about congenital CMV. @NationalCMV

I think about all the babies and families affected by HCMV everyday in lab. This work is for you. #stopcmv 15/15

nationalcmv.org/home