Cytomegalovirus, CMV for short. Because the infected cells are swollen and have huge nuclear inclusions, they are also called cell inclusion virus. It belongs to herpes virus. Now let's learn more about this virus with Bian Xiao!
Cytomegalovirus is widely distributed, which can infect other animals and cause a variety of systemic infections, mainly reproductive and urinary system, central nervous system and liver diseases, ranging from mild asymptomatic infection to serious defects or death.
Cytomegalovirus has a typical form of herpes virus, and its DNA structure is similar to HSV, but it is 5% larger than HSV. The virus is highly species-specific to the host or cultured cells, and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can only infect people and proliferate in human fibroblasts.
Viruses proliferate slowly in cell culture and have a long replication cycle. It takes 30 ~ 40 days for the first isolation and culture to have cytopathic effect, which is characterized by swelling and rounding of cells, enlargement of nuclei, appearance of large eosinophilic inclusions, and halo around the nuclei.
Cytomegalovirus is an intracellular infection, although there are antibodies in the blood. It is also impossible to avoid the persistence of this virus in cells, so it is difficult for cytomegalovirus to be completely eliminated by the host after the initial infection.
Symptoms of cytomegalovirus infection
The symptoms of cytomegalovirus infection vary with different infection routes. Either way, its harmfulness cannot be ignored. Now let's look at the symptoms of different infection routes.
20% of congenital cytomegalovirus infections are asymptomatic at birth, but some of them suffer from drowsiness, dyspnea and convulsions shortly after birth, and die within days or weeks.
The vast majority of infants with perinatal infection have no symptoms, and only a few have intermittent fever, pneumonia and mononucleosis in the third month after birth. Other symptoms include dyskinesia, mental retardation, hepatosplenomegaly, deafness and central nervous system symptoms.
Adult cytomegalovirus mononucleosis is more common than children, mainly characterized by fever and fatigue. After 1-2 weeks of fever, the absolute value of lymphocytes in blood increased, with abnormal changes, splenomegaly and lymphadenitis.
Cytomegalovirus mononucleosis caused by blood transfusion usually occurs 3-4 weeks after blood transfusion, and its symptoms are the same as those of ordinary cytomegalovirus mononucleosis, with occasional interstitial pneumonia, hepatitis, meningitis, myocarditis, hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia.
Almost all cytomegalovirus infections occurred within 2 months after renal transplantation, with 50%-60% asymptomatic and 40%-50% showing self-limited nonspecific syndrome.
Almost all AIDS patients have cytomegalovirus infection and extensive visceral damage.