CMV Poster

WHAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PREGNANCY
COMPLICATION YOU NEVER HEARD OF?

Imagine you had a child who was deaf.
Imagine you had a child who was blind.
Imagine you had a child who was mentally retarded.
Imagine you had a child with Cerebral Palsy.
Imagine you had a child with Epilepsy.
Imagine you had a child with Autism.
Imagine you have a child, who has all of these and more.
Imagine waiting to hear your unborn child’s cry and hear only the silence of stillbirth.

CONGENITAL CYTOMEGALOVIRUS - CMV

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has emerged in recent years as the most prevalent cause of congenital infection in the developed world, commonly leading to mental retardation and Deafness. CMV infection is the second most identifiable cause of mental retardation in the USA, leading cause of deafness and a major cause of developmental disability in the UK, USA and developed world.
Congenital Cytomegalovirus is caused when an infected mother passes the CMV virus to the foetus through the placenta. The mother's illness may be without symptoms and she may not even feel ill. CMV can harm the foetus at any point during pregnancy. CMV can be transmitted from mother to foetus even when the mother is known to have been infected months or years before.
Most babies born with CMV are asymptomatic (show no signs at birth). About 5% of babies are symptomatic and are usually born with most or all of the following symptoms:

Small head size
Small body size
Enlarged liver and spleen
Petechial rash—little red dots under the skin
Jaundice
Low blood count
Seizures
Abnormal muscle tone
Calcium deposits in the brain
Vision loss
Hearing loss

CMV affects more babies than the flu, meningitis, toxoplasmosis virus or rubella, even before each of these viruses had a vaccine. In the USA Congenital CMV infects about 40,000 babies born every single year. 8,000 of those babies will have serious effects from the infection. Some babies die because of CMV and others have severe mental and physical disabilities.
Possible disabilities associated with Congenital CMV disease are:

Deafness –from birth or delayed
Blindness
Cerebral Palsy
Physical and Motor Impairment
Seizure disorder/ Epilepsy
Developmental Delays
Learning Delays

It is a potentially deadly and/or debilitating virus. Until the goal of a CMV vaccine is realised, educating women of childbearing age about the risks of CMV and about how to avoid disease transmission are the only control strategies available.
For more information please visit:

www.bcm.edu/pedi/infect/cmv
www.cmvkids.faithweb.com
www. mysite.wanadoo-members.com/CMVsupport

This Poster was designed, edited and published by family members from cmvkids.faithweb

To download further copies go to: http://williamshaffer.org/cmv_poster_uk_version

	Chloe (24 Months) Cape Coral, FL, USA Symptomatic Congenital CMV, hepatitis, microencephaly, intercranial calcifications, progresive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, currently non-verbal (ASL), reflux CMV gastrointestinal disease (in remission). AFO's and diplegic CP, developmental delays.
	Sam (7) Devon, England cCMV, spastic quad CP, epilepsy, asthma, PEG, visually and hearing impaired, operating at birth level. Heart problems.
	Chelsea 15 April 1996 - 12 April 2000 LA, USA cCMV, severe CP, epilepsy, severe dev delays, unilateral deafness (progressive), CVI (legally blind), KidKart, non-verbal, reflux, etc.
	Parker Still-born 11 January 2001 Alabama, USA cCMV. Autopsy report stated: “one of the worst cases of CMV they had ever seen”.
	Jeremy (2) USA Born with symptomatic congenital CMV. Typical 2 year old.
	Roo (16) USA A primary diagnosis of congenital CMV and all that goes with it: CP, seizure disorder, microcephallic, autistic, deaf, blind and nonverbal, profoundly retarded, fed via j-tube during the day and IV nutrition via central line at night. On and on the list goes.
	Daniel (22) Dacula, GA, USA Developmentally disabled, non-verbal, legally blind (but sees better than we think), walks, needs help with all daily living skills, happy and otherwise healthy.
	Harry (4) Lancashire, England Congenital CMV, cerebral palsy, spastic quad, epilepsy, registered blind, profoundly deaf, wheel chair bound.
	Elise (10 months) USA cCMV, Profoundly deaf, CVI, Micro, calcifications with other brain injury as well, CP. Uses ABR, Family Hope Center and HBOT.
	Bradley (3) USA Smptomatic cCMV, hearing impaired. CI, developmental delays.
	Natalie (12) Derby, England Symptomatic cCMV. Profoundly Deaf. Cochlear Implant. Dyscalculia. Sleeping, eating and behaviour problems. Poor fine motor skills and balance. Epilepsy, asthma, eczema, psoriasis, allergies. Intermittent visual problems.
	Sean (12) KY, USA cCMV, microcephaly, reactive airway disease, deaf in right ear, developmentally delayed, right eye crossed, possible sleep disorder,behaviour disorder, ADHD, inguinal hernias repaired at 3 months,OCD, somesymptoms of sensory integration disorder.
	Becca (5) UT, USA cCMV. Cerebral Palsy- mixed tone high in arms and legs, low in torso and neck. Deafblind. Non-verbal. Developmentally delayed.
	Koby (3) Spanish Fork, UT, USA cCMV. Profound bilateral deafness, Cochlear Implant, Asthma, behaviour problems, Dev delays.
	Ryan (5) USA cCMV, mild-moderate hearing loss, moderate cerebral palsy, eats pureed foods, non-verbal, very smart.
	Camryn (3) Ontario, Canada cCMV, epilepsy, CVI (legally blind), CP, non-verbal, deaf in left ear, g-tube, Kid-Kart, microcephallic/brain calcifications, no head/torso control, were told she had 2 weeks to live at her birth, reflux, severe dev. delays.
	Noah (1) New York, USA Congenital CMV, bilateral hearing loss, microcephaly, calcifications, enlarged ventricles, and right hemiparises. Has exceeded all Dr’s expectations, babbling away and on the verge of walking.
	Sophia (20 months) Jones, Oklahoma, USA Congenital CMV and A-genesis of the Corpus Callosum which have caused her to have Developmental delays.
	Matthew (9 months) Ontario, Canada cCMV. He had the jitters, small head size, brain calcification and enlarged brain ventricles. I believe that he has a vision problem because he doesn't track.
	Jeb (6) Eagle River, Wisconsin USA Symptomatic cCMV. At birth he had all the typical symptoms, needing several transfusions. He had two months of gancyclovir. Had OT, PT and speech therapy. Taught himself to read. His healthy brain seems to have taken over for the calcified brain. He is just a normal spunky, extremely active little boy.
	Kiel, 19 yrs California, USA cCMV, was born with microcephaly, petechiae, needed blood transfusion at birth, cerebral palsy, spastic (4 hip surgeries), seizure disorder, mild deaf, moderate vision, kidney stones, tube fed, anterior/posterior spinal fusion.
	Maya (14 months) Indiana, USA cCMV. At birth she weighed only 2 lb 15 oz, and was 15 inches long. She has microcephaly and is only 13 lbs now. She has had occupational and developmental therapy since 1 month. Physical therapy was added at 6 months. She is crawling but not sitting without assistance. Moderate hearing loss. She wears a splint on her left hand because the thumb lays almost flat. She has a g-tube.
	Nicholas (6) Wisconsin, USA cCMV, microcephaly, severe developmental delays, AFOs, Zippie wheelchair, Giraffe Stander, Ketogenic Diet to control seizures.
	Marissa (7) USA Asymptomatic cCMV. Progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, CI, CP, Right spastic hemiparesis, intercranial calcifications, currently non-verbal (ASL), developmental delays.
	Sabrina (15 months) Ontario, Canada cCMV, CP (low muscle tone in the trunk with poor head control) Eating difficulties. Epilepsy.
	Ciara (9 months) Glasgow, Scotland Symptomatic cCMV, PVL on MRI, increased tone in lower limbs (no formal CP diagnosis), delays in motor development. Ciara is still too young to tell exactly what the future holds.
	Terry (13 ) USA cCMV. Profoundly deaf (uses sign language and picture communication system), optic nerve hypoplasia and colobomas of the optic discs with vision impairment, severe mental retardation, neuromuscular problems with fluctuating tone, primary immune deficiency disease (no IgA, low IgG), asthma, autism, attention deficit disorder, obsessive/compulsive behaviour.
	James (12) USA Symptomatic cCMV, He is in a wheelchair and is fed with a G-tube. CP, hearing loss, brain calcifications, epilepsy (no seizures in a long time), very vocal, smart as can be.
	Cameron (10) Washington, USA cCMV. We spent the first year of his life JUST trying to keep him alive.the miracle of gancyclovir and a year of growth and developmentCameron is now left with profound deafness (with a cochlear implant), OCD, ADD and SLI.
	Nathan (8) Michigan, USA cCMV. CP, epilepsy, developmental delays, hearing impaired, microcephaly, mildly visually impaired.
	Nicholas (10 months) Dublin, Ireland Symptomatic cCMV, microcephaly, profound hearing loss, cp, some visual impairment. Treated with ganciclavir for 6 weeks.
	Elly (18) The Netherlands Symptomatic cCMV. Deaf Developmental delays. Communicates through gesture.
	BrayAn (6) Idaho, USA cCMV. CP, Stroke in utero, Can't speak but has learned sign language, hearing is still great.
	Jonathan (5) Ohio,USA cCMV, Seizure disorder, Deaf, developmentally delayed with left side weakness, crossed eye with possible blindness in it, sleep disorder, behaviour disorder to self and others, autistic traits. Hyperactivity.
	Amy (10 ) Nottingham, England cCMV. Deaf. Calcification. Developmentally delayed. Cochlear Implant at 8. Finds it difficult to use speech or form words. Poor fine motor skills and balance. Asthma.
	This COULD be your child!

WHAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PREGNANCY COMPLICATION YOU NEVER HEARD OF?

CONGENITAL CYTOMEGALOVIRUS - CMV

WHAT IS THE MOST DANGEROUS PREGNANCY
COMPLICATION YOU NEVER HEARD OF?