infections
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Infection
Diagnosis of CMV Infection
In newborns, urine culture Blood tests In people with a weakened immune system, often biopsy Cytomegalovirus infection may not be recognized immediately. Diagnosis of CMV infection is often unnecessary in healthy adults and children because treatment is unnecessary. However, doctors consider the possibility of CMV infection in the following people: Otherwise healthy people who have fever and fatigue People who have a weakened Overview of the Immune System and an eye, brain, lung, or gastrointestinal infection Newborns who seem sick Once CMV infection is suspected, a doctor conducts tests to detect the virus in body fluids or tissues. In newborns, the diagnosis is usually made by sending a sample of urine to a laboratory to grow (culture) and identify the virus. Blood tests that detect antibodies to CMV can confirm a new infection if the person did not previously have these antibodies. ( Antibodies are produced by the immune system to help defend the body against a particular attacker, such as CMV.) But these tests cannot confirm whether disease is present. The presence of CMV in body fluids and tissues does not always indicate disease and may merely represent viral shedding. CMV disease can be caused by reactivation of the virus, as in people with a weakened immune system. In these people, a biopsy of affected tissues is often necessary to confirm CMV disease. Blood tests to estimate how many viruses are present may also be done and may be helpful because an elevated or rising CMV viral load is often highly suggestive of invasive disease. CMV retinitis can be identified by an ophthalmologist, who examines internal eye structures to check for characteristic abnormalities using an Ophthalmoscopy . 