These include mental and developmental problems and vision or hearing problems. In rare cases, a newborn can have a life-threatening infection at birth. Infants and children who get CMV infection after birth have few, if any, symptoms or complications. When symptoms do appear, they include lung problems, poor weight gain, swollen glands, rash, liver problems, and blood problems. 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.