People with weakened immune systems can have more serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses, with fever, pneumonia, liver infection, and anemia. Illnesses can last for weeks or months and can be fatal. Most exposed people never develop symptoms. In those who do, the time between exposure and symptoms is about 3 to 12 weeks. There are special laboratory tests to culture the virus, but testing requires 2 to 3 weeks and is expensive.
Blood tests can help diagnose infection or determine if a person has been exposed in the past.
The duration of disease varies, depending on the type of infection and the age and health of the infected person. Serious CMV infections that were acquired before birth can cause developmental problems that can affect a child for a lifetime. CMV infections in transplant recipients, cancer patients, and persons with HIV infection can be life threatening and require many weeks of hospital treatment. On the other hand, infections in young adults might cause symptoms for only 2 to 3 weeks. There is no specific treatment or cure for CMV infection.