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E-Book 3rd Congress

  • cytomegalovirus (CMV) review article
  • Farnaz Gheisari,1,*
    1. Bachelor Student of microbiology Azad Shiraz university


  • Introduction: Human cytomegalovirus is a member of the viral family known as herpesviruses, Herpesviridae, or human herpesvirus-5 (HHV-5). Human cytomegalovirus infections commonly are associated with the salivary glands. CMV infection may be asymptomatic in healthy people, but it can be life-threatening in an immunocompromised patient. Human CMV or human herpesvirus 5 is a ubiquitous double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Betaherpesvirinae. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a highly prevalent herpesvirus that can cause severe disease in immunocompromised individuals and immunologically immature fetuses and newborns. Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) has infected humans since the origin of our species and currently infects most of the world’s population.
  • Methods: Usually, CMV controlled by a vigorous immune response so that infections are asymptomatic or symptoms are mild. However, if the immune system is compromised, HCMV can replicate to high levels and cause serious end organ disease. Infection with HCMV is common throughout the globe. CMV is acquired most commonly early in life, during childhood to early adulthood, through exposure to saliva, tears, urine, stool, breast milk, semen, and other bodily secretions from infected individuals. CMV has been detected via culture (human fibroblast), serologies, antigen assays, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and cytopathology. In the transplant population, antigen assays or PCR is used (sometimes in conjunction with cytopathology) for diagnosis and treatment determinations.
  • Results: An effective cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine could prevent the majority of birth defects caused by congenital CMV infections. Candidate vaccines in clinical evaluation include live attenuated, protein subunit, DNA, and viral-vectored approaches. Subunit vaccines provide potent, focused immune responses to select viral immunogens. In principle, a CMV vaccine could be deployed in any of a number of settings: a universal vaccine administered in early childhood; a vaccine targeting young women of child-bearing age (toward the goal of preventing congenital transmission); or a vaccine for patients anticipating SOT or HSCT (aiming at the goal of reducing the risk of CMV disease under the immunosuppressive conditions of transplantation). Nevertheless, vaccine development is far advanced, with numerous candidate vaccines being tested, both live and inactivated.
  • Conclusion: Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) are large, complex pathogens that persistently and systemically colonize most mammals.certain populations and regions are at a substantially higher risk of CMV infection. The extensive epidemiologic burden of CMV calls for increased efforts in the research and development of vaccines and treatments.
  • Keywords: Cytomegalovirus- herpesvirus- vaccine - infection