Free, downloadable educational resources are available for child care workers and women of childbearing age to prevent congenital (meaning present at birth) cytomegalovirus (CMV), which according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), disables a child every hour in the U.S. Many women of childbearing age have heard of the Zika virus spread by mosquitoes, yet only 7% of men and 13% of women surveyed had heard of congenital CMV or how to stop it from attacking their unborn by taking precautionary measures such as refraining from kissing their toddlers around the mouth or sharing cups and utensils with them.
Congenital CMV it is the most common cause of nonhereditary sensorineural hearing loss in childhood. In addition to deafness, Congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV) causes mental retardation, liver disease, and cerebral palsy as a result of infection in pregnant women.
- About 1 in 150 children is born with congenital CMV infection, and about 20% percent of those are permanently disabled by it. In other words, about 1 in 750 children is born with or develops permanent problems due to congenital CMV infection.
- More than 5,000 children each year suffer permanent problems caused by congenital CMV.
Every hour, congenital CMV causes one child to become disabled.
Who are most at risk for contracting CMV?
According to the CDC, (on webpage: http://www.cdc.gov/cmv/clinical/features.html): Childcare Workers--"People who care for or work closely with young children may be at greater risk of CMV infection than other people because CMV infection is common among young children. By age 5 years, one in three children have been infected with CMV, usually from breastfeeding or contact with other young children. Although young children with CMV infection generally have no symptoms, CMV can be present in their body fluids for months after they first become infected. Regular hand washing, especially after contact with body fluids of young children, is commonly recommended to avoid spread of infections, including CMV."
According to the article, Cytomegalovirus as an occupational risk in daycare educators
"Studies in industrialized countries have confirmed that children attending daycare have higher excretion rates of CMV than children not attending day-care and that horizontal transmission is common between children in daycare and their adult contacts" (see: National :http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Data from a variety of day care center studies indicate that between 44 to 100% of two year olds at a single given time were shedding CMV.
I am the mother partly responsible for the 2015 passing of a new law in Connecticut to combat congenital CMV (click here to see my photograph with Governor Malloy at the ceremonial bill signing holding a photograph of my daughter, Elizabeth Saunders, born with microcephaly--a small head/damaged brain--in 1989 from congenital CMV).
None of my OB/GYNs had warned me about CMV or how to prevent it in pregnancy. I was at high risk because I not only had a toddler of my own, but I ran a licensed daycare center and nowhere in the literature was CMV information and how to prevent it. I am not alone. "75% of women with a primary infection during pregnancy acquire CMV from their own child under two years of age,” said Stuart Adler, M.D.
In 2015, I, along with Dr. Brenda Balch, Connecticut's American Academy of Pediatrics Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Chapter Champion, were instrumental in helping Connecticut pass a law requiring testing for congenital CMV for infants who fail their required hearing screen. If a baby tests positive for congenital CMV, doctors can offer the antiviral that has shown to improve outcomes (brain size, hearing, etc.). Upon the Connecticut bill passing, I presented to Connecticut's Medical Assistance Program Oversight Council's Women’s Health Committee to explain congenital CMV and the required testing. Here is my PowerPoint uploaded to Google drive. “We must commit to educating the public about cytomegalovirus so that we can potentially prevent the devastating consequences of this disease on our children," said Brenda K. Balch, MD. The Connecticut Public Health Department now provides congenital CMV information on its website at: http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3138&q=527824
The annual medical cost of caring for children born physically and mental disabled by congenital CMV is very high: “In the early 1990s, the expense to the US health care system associated with congenital H[human]CMV infection was estimated at approximately $1.9 billion annually, with an average cost per child of over $300,000” (Arvin et al. 2004).
Congenital CMV blog: http://congenitalcmv.blogspot.com
Personal website: www.AuthorLisaSaunders.com
The United States Senate passed legislation designating the month of June as "National Congenital CMV Awareness Month," while recommending that “more effort be taken to counsel women of childbearing age of the effect this virus can have on their children.”
- Connecticut Magazine: Mystic Mom 'Overwhelmed' by Governor Signing Law on ‘Stealth Virus’ That Can Catch Pregnant Women Unaware
- CT Now: New Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Law in Connecticut
- Cornell Alumni Magazine: In Memory of Elizabeth: Her daughter's death from a preventable disability spurs Lisa Avazian Saunders '82 into action
- Clinical Advisor: Connecticut passes cytomegalovirus screening law for newborns
- CT Magazine June 2015 (One Mystic Mother is Trying to Raise Awareness of a Common Virus That Can Have Devastating Consequences for Pregnant Women)
- Fox CT Dr & Mom
- CT NOW: Mommy Minute
- Health Watch: Dr. Brenda Balch, Lisa Saunders, and Cindy Barry discuss cCMV
- Mystic River Press: Saunders seeks help with CMV ‘silent virus’ prevention bill
- Hartford Courant: Mother Working to Protect Pregnant Moms From Dangerous Virus
- AP article went worldwide mentioning CT Senate failed to vote on CMV Bill: Silent virus a rare, dangerous risk for the unborn
Regarding Zika and CMV:
See newscast, "Virus more dangerous than Zika is already in US," at: http://www.12news.com/news/