By What is CMV IgM?
IgM: A negative cytomegalovirus (CMV) IgM result suggests that the patient is not experiencing acute or active infection. However, a negative result does not rule-out primary CMV infection.
What is a CMV blood test done for?
CMV infection is a disease caused by a type of herpes virus. The CMV blood test is performed to detect current active CMV infection, or past CMV infection in people who are at risk for reactivation of infection. These people include organ transplant recipients and those with a suppressed immune system.
How long is IgM positive in CMV?
If positive, the infection may be current, usually sometime within the last 4 months. CMV IgM antibody in some women may remain positive for over 4 months (sometimes up to a year or more) or may be a false positive result.
What does high CMV Level mean?
A positive CMV DNA test may mean CMV is present and you have, or the newborn tested, has an active infection. High levels of viral DNA may indicate a more severe infection with serious symptoms.
What happens if you are CMV positive?
The majority of children born who experience a CMV infection before birth are healthy and normal. However, 10 to 15% may have complications such as hearing loss, neurological abnormalities, or decreased motor skills. Infants who are infected with CMV after they are born rarely experience any long-term complications.
Is CMV curable?
CMV spreads from person to person through body fluids, such as blood, saliva, urine, semen and breast milk. There is no cure, but there are medications that can help treat the symptoms.
Is CMV a STD?
CMV can be sexually transmitted. It can also be transmitted via breast milk, transplanted organs and, rarely, blood transfusions. Although the virus is not highly contagious, it has been shown to spread in households and among young children in day care centers.
What does a positive CMV test mean?
A positive test for CMV IgG indicates that a person was infected with CMV at some time during their life but does not indicate when a person was infected. This applies for persons ≥12 months of age when maternal antibodies are no longer present.
Is being CMV positive bad?
What happens if CMV is left untreated?
If untreated, it can spread throughout the body, infecting organ after organ. It may cause respiratory problems, damage to the central nervous system, bleeding ulcers in the digestive system, and CMV retinitis, which can lead to blindness.
Can CMV go away on its own?
The virus stays inactive in your body and can cause more problems later. This reactivation is most common in people who’ve had stem cell and organ transplants. Your outlook depends on your overall health. In people who have strong immune systems, CMV symptoms almost always go away on their own.