Cytomegalovirus - what is its danger? - Symptoms

Symptoms

After infection, CMV is present in the human body in an inactive state - the human immune system to cope with the task of suppressing the activity of cytomegalovirus in most cases, so cytomegalovirus infection is asymptomatic and often go unnoticed. The weakening of the immune system and lead to reactivation of cytomegalovirus in characteristic symptoms.

The incubation period is very long lasting - the symptoms of CMV infection can occur after a few weeks or even months after infection (nine to sixty days).

Cytomegalovirus can cause cervicitis, cervical erosion Cervical erosion - almost without symptoms, but with consequences . Various diseases of the cervix and vagina are developed as a result of infection with the virus. Women infected with this type of virus, it is possible to identify the chronic inflammation of the vagina (or colpites vulvovaginitis), lesions of the cervix and uterus (cervicitis, endometritis). Inflammation caused by a virus, often affects the area of ​​the appendages. If an analysis of the clinical course of an inflammatory disease, attention is drawn to the tendency to chronic and subclinical. This is an important feature of the viral disease of a disease which is caused by bacterial flora or protozoa.

The inflammatory process due to bacterial destruction is acute, subacute, in some cases, accompanied by the development of the clinical picture with vivid complaints of pain, pathological secretions and other symptoms. There may be clinical cases which proceed against the background of a combination of viral and bacterial infections. Such cases are especially difficult to diagnose, so requires an integrated approach. Mandatory testing for the presence of CMV infection should pass women whose previous pregnancies ended in spontaneous abortion (miscarriage before the deadline of 16 weeks or premature labor in the third trimester of gestation 32-35 weeks). Viral infection is often accompanied by the development of non-specific complaints, so you should pay attention to all complaints that a woman makes.

These complaints include the following:

• joint pain
• exacerbation of chronic poliartita
• swollen lymph nodes of the parotid and submandibular group
• skin rash
• recurrent phenomenon mumps

If the appearance of such complaints to conduct clinical and laboratory examination of women to detect toxoplasmosis Toxoplasmosis: pregnant women against cats , Listeriosis or venereal disease, the result of this survey will be negative. The results of the virological testing are positive for the presence of CMV. The defeat of the virus infection does not apply to a certain organ, more often generalized form of the disease. The inflammation may involve the lungs, the organs of the digestive and endocrine systems, lymph nodes.

In adulthood, according to clinical observations of persistent infection is found in one or various organs .  Generalized inflammatory process is more pronounced complaints of a general nature, the occurrence of which is associated with an infectious disease onset .  Patients noted weakness, malaise, fatigue and decreased performance, headaches .  There may be discharge from the nose mucous character, genital tract, raids on the gums and in the sky .  In such a situation must necessarily examine the patient at the dentist and ENT doctor, especially if the initial examination revealed an increase in morbidity and submandibular glands .  The opposite situation may occur when patients are examined by a large number of experts, but it does not bring any result in terms of the diagnostic significance .  For CMV infection is characteristic that the salivary glands are virus gateway .  Involvement of salivary glands is a prerequisite for the generalization of infection .

Symptoms of acute cytomegalovirus infection

Cytomegalovirus reactivation in a weakened for some reason or other immune system (e.g., after the disease) is accompanied by characteristic symptoms, often resembling symptoms of colds. This state is called mononucleosis syndrome.

Symptoms may persist for several weeks (typically two to six weeks). The most common symptoms of CMV are:

• Sudden increases in temperature, fever of unknown origin
• The feeling of general malaise
• Headache
• Weakness, fatigue
• Aching, body aches, muscle
• Chills

As a rule, the acute phase of CMV infection in the normal operation of the immune system The immune system - how it works?   It stops after a few weeks, and the activity of the virus again suppressed immune system. If the immune system is not able to suppress cytomegalovirus, developing comorbidities, accompanied by characteristic symptoms.

Cytomegalovirus and comorbidities

Infection by cytomegalovirus in the weakened immune system is fraught with a variety of diseases, each of which - by the nature of the various symptoms. For example, cytomegalovirus can affect the lungs (acute viral pneumonia), liver (tranzaminaz increase in activity, the increase in the size of the liver), gastrointestinal tract (colitis), the central nervous system (encephalitis), and so on.

The most common is the consequence of reactivation of CMV, such as pneumonia, which is the typical symptoms of cytomegalovirus infection - prolonged fever, signs of lung disease (eg, dyspnea) due to lack of coughing. Provoked by cytomegalovirus pneumonia runs hard and in some cases (for example, after organ transplants) can lead to death. Cytomegalovirus can cause symptoms and less severe respiratory infections - including fever, runny nose, weakness, and a general feeling of malaise, headaches. The characteristic symptoms of CMV infection unlike the symptoms of the common cold - duration: fever, enlarged lymph nodes Lymph nodes - what keeps our immune system , Runny nose, chills, weakness may occur for a few weeks, whereas for colds symptoms may disappear in a few days.

Symptoms of cytomegalovirus infection in children

Infection by cytomegalovirus in childhood or adolescence provoke the same symptoms seen with cytomegalovirus infection in adults. However, so-called congenital cytomegalovirus infection, ie infection with cytomegalovirus child in the womb before birth, can be accompanied by symptoms of much more serious. In particular, even in the absence of symptoms of CMV for the first few years of a child's life later manifested signs of infection such as impaired intellectual and physical development, problems with hearing or vision. Symptoms of cytomegalovirus infection, have been observed at birth include lung problems, too small for newborn weight, a skin rash, an increase in the size of the liver, swollen lymph nodes.