Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a common human herpes virus. Once infected with CMV, the body retains the virus for life. In most healthy people CMV causes mild or no symptoms and most people are unaware of having had the infection. In individuals with an impaired immune system CMV can cause more severe disease and it can also cause problems for the developing foetus if a woman is infected with CMV when she is pregnant. This infection is called congenital CMV infection (cCMV) and can cause a range of problems for the baby.

At the PIDRG and SGVI, we have a special interest in studying CMV infection, particularly in pregnant women (maternal CMV infection) and their babies (cCMV infection). These studies have been sponsored by SGUL and external organisations. We have several studies focusing on CMV infection which are completed, ongoing, or in the pipeline, as described below:

Hear more about CMV from one of our leading Principal Investigators, Dr Simon Drysdale, by watching the video below: