In a message dated 12/20/98 1:32:07 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> Supposing the babies do get CMV? What are the symptoms? Is it very
dangerous?

CMV infection in most people is fairly benign, even asymptomatic. Most people
reading this have had it and never even knew it.  A few people (including
myself) have a very symptomatic case and become quite ill with symptoms
similar to a flu/mono combo. Lingering chronic fatigue can be a symptom. The
times when CMV infection can be dangerous and even life-threatening are when
the patient is immunocompromised. It is very dangerous to AIDS patients and
transplant patients. When you hear about the danger of CMV to babies, you are
hearing about *congenital* CMV in which the infant contracts the disease in
utero. This can produce very severe sequelae  including mental retardation and
deafness. But for the average baby who contracts it through her mother's milk,
there is no problem at all. In fact, it is important that young children
become immune to the disease before they reach their childbearing years so
that they don't pass the disease to unborn children.  CMV transmission thru
breastmilk is an important part of upping the general population's overall
immunity to the disease.

I have an article on CMV that I will be happy to send anyone who e-mails me. I
wrote it for a general-audience parenting magazine.

Katie Allison Granju
Knoxville, TN