Complications

Complications of CMV infection vary, depending on your overall health and when you were infected.

Healthy adults

Rarely, CMV causes a healthy adult to develop mononucleosis. Other rare complications for healthy adults include problems with the digestive system, liver, brain and nervous system.

People who have weakened immunity

Complications of CMV infection can include:

• Vision loss, due to inflammation of the light-sensing layer of the eye (retinitis)
• Digestive system problems, including inflammation of the colon (colitis), esophagus (esophagitis) and liver (hepatitis)
• Nervous system problems, including brain inflammation (encephalitis)
• Pneumonia

Infants who have congenital CMV

An infant whose mother first became infected with CMV during pregnancy is more likely to experience complications. Complications for the baby can include:

• Hearing loss
• Intellectual disability
• Vision problems
• Seizures
• Lack of coordination
• Weakness or problems using muscles