CMV News
The following news and events support the research efforts, provide information and promote awareness about congenital CMV. If you are unable to find a story please look under Resources for more social media posts. You can also find published articles supportive of our mission under Publications.
Are you Pregnant or Know Someone who is?
IOWA FOX news tells the story of Jessica Glieden who lost her three-year-old son, Tay Glieden, due to complications of congenital CMV on the segment "CMV Virus Affecting New Mothers' Children". Jessica reminds everyone of the dangerous of CMV during pregnancy.
Ground Rounds- Children's Hospital of San Antonio
Dr. Gail Demmler Harrison presenting "Congenital CMV- the Elephant in our Living Room" to Children's Hospital Ground Rounds at San Antonio, Texas Friday, Feb. 10 2017. On a mission to share CMV knowledge, raise awareness and provide updates on current management recommendations for Congenital CMV.
Utah is Identifying Infants at Risk of Hearing Loss
Evidence in a newly published article by professors Albert Park & Marissa Diener shows that Utah's newborn screening law works to identify infants with hearing loss.
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Cytomegalovirus: The Virus All Pregnant Women Should Know About Now
An article by Dr. Gail J. Demmler Harrison titled "Cytomegalovirus: The Virus All Pregnant Women Should Know About Now" is available on Medscape. Find out what the "knowledge vaccine" is all about.
'Born With Boxing Gloves On': Malcolm's CMV Story
Danielle Alaimo shares a glimpse of Malcolm's congenital Cytomegalovirus story. Story by Wade Livingston with The Island Packet news.
The article also features Dr. Gail Demmler Harrison's interview via Skype.
New York Times CMV Interview with Dr. Demmler Harrison
Catherine Saint Louis, a health reporter for the New York Times, sits down with Dr. Gail Demmler Harrison to discuss CMV symptoms, transmission, preventable measures and why some physicians are reluctant to talk about it.
Catherine’s resent article “An unspoken Threat”, available in print, talks about the heartbreaking stories of families affected by CMV. Read the full article online and watch the interview with Dr. Gail.
New Editorial Review: 40 Years is Long Enough!
A new editorial review on the history of CMV vaccines titled “40 Years is Long Enough!” by Dr. Gail J Demmler Harrison was recently published on the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The article describes the complex journey of a CMV vaccine.
One example of the journey is described on the Phase 1 Study of 4 Live, Recombinant Human Cytomegalovirus Towne/Toledo Chimera Vaccines in Cytomegalovirus–Seronegative Men by Adler et al.
Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection: The Elephant in Our Living Room
A new editorial published on JAMA Pediatrics titled “Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infections: The Elephant in Our Living Room” by Dr. Gail J. Demmler-Harrison explores strategies for identifying newborns with congenital CMV (cCMV) infections. Some of the strategies discussed on the editorial include targeted CMV screening of newborns who fail their newborn hearing screen and universal screening of all newborns. The editorial goes on to discuss issues that arise from each proposed programs including detection methods, treatment and the cost of taking such a task.
In a related article titled “Cost-effectiveness of Universal and Targeted Newborn Screening for Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection” by Soren Gantt, Francois Dionne and Fred F. Kozak the issue of cost is investigated further. The authors explain that screening newborns for cCMV appears to be cost-effective. The article goes on to describe the cost differences between CMV targeted testing, universal screening and no testing.
Women's Attitudes Toward Practicing Cytomegalovirus Prevention Behaviors
The Preventive Medicine Reports journal published a study on “Women's attitudes toward practicing cytomegalovirus prevention behaviors” by Rosemary Thackeray & Brianna M. Magnusson from Brigham Young University.
The goal of the study was to “understand the frequency with which women practice CMV prevention behaviors, women's attitudes toward the behaviors, and predictors of those attitudes”. Data was collected from 840 women, between the ages of 18 to 40 years, in the United States who agreed to respond to online survey requests. The inclusion criteria, besides age and gender, included women who had a child under 5 years of age, were pregnant or planning a pregnancy within 12 months from taking the survey.
The conclusions of the study revealed that women are open and responsive to practicing CMV precautions including hand washing, not kissing children on or near mouth, and not sharing food or cups and utensils. The research also found that women were more willing to practice these precautions if they believed that their risk of infection was reduced.
To learn more read the full article titled “Women's attitudes toward practicing cytomegalovirus prevention behaviors”.
CMV Public Health & Policy Conference
Update: Oct. 18, 2016
The CMV Public Health & Policy Conference held Sept. 26-28, 2016 in Austin, TX was a success!
Many CMV experts, physicians, researchers, parents and family members attended the conference to discuss issues concerning congenital CMV; including universal CMV screening, targeted testing, treatment, techniques to raise awareness, CMV legislation and many more.
Dr. Gail Demmler Harrison even made an appearance on The Lisa Sanders Show. Watch the video above.
Also, watch a video of Caroline Bailey, one of first babies to ever receive ganciclovir treatment, speak about her experience growing up deaf from congenital CMV.
CMV Public Health & Policy Conference
Update: Oct. 18, 2016
The CMV Public Health & Policy Conference held Sept. 26-28, 2016 in Austin, TX was a success!
Many CMV experts, physicians, researchers, parents and family members attended the conference to discuss issues concerning congenital CMV; including universal CMV screening, targeted testing, treatment, techniques to raise awareness, CMV legislation and many more.
Dr. Gail Demmler Harrison even made an appearance on The Lisa Sanders Show. Watch the video above.
Also, watch a video of Caroline Bailey, one of first babies to ever receive ganciclovir treatment, speak about her experience growing up deaf from congenital CMV.
Quartz Magazine Features Article about CMV and Zika Virus
Microcephaly is a trending topic on social media as a result of the growing interest in the active Zika virus infections in Latin America.
The article “The CMV virus causes microcephaly in babies, and it’s much more widespread than Zika” from Quartz Magazine addresses the issue that approximately 4,000 newborns in the United States alone are at risk of being born with microcephaly, hearing loss, among other symptoms of a congenital CMV infection.
The magazine also mentions the infographic from the National CMV Foundation comparing the risks of CMV and Zika virus.
A New Approach to Spreading CMV Awareness
Update: Lillian Salerno has made great progress on her road to recovery. See her latest CMV health update.
The Animal Planet Channel featured the story of Lillian Grace Salerno, who at 19 months experienced hundreds of seizures a day. Her parents were forced to make a life-altering decision. Watch the Animal Planet Channel video trailer "Can a Baby Survive with Half a Brain?".
The full episode titled "All I got for Christmas is brain surgery" is now available for viewing.
Lillian's story was also featured on the Texas Children's Hospital Blog website on 2014. Read the full story titled "How Texas Children’s Saved Our Daughter By Removing Half Her Brain".
A Step to CMV Awareness
Update: In June 2015 proposed bill SB 791 (Madeline Leigh Armstrong Act) was signed into law in the state of Texas. The new CMV law was effective Sept. 1, 2015.
Dr. Gail Demmler Harrison, the CMV Team and CMV families provided testimony on congenital CMV at the Texas Senate and House Committee Hearings for SB 791 in Austin, Texas.
Proposed bills SB 791 and HB 2174 are identical;
Part 1 provides for CMV education for pregnant women and materials for education to be provided by the Texas State Health Department, modeled after the CDC website recommendations for CMV Precautions to prevent CMV during pregnancy.
Part 2 provides for CMV testing targeted at newborns who are deaf at birth, so that CMV diagnosis can be made early, and babies and their families can be educated about appropriate management.
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Date |
Event |
Location |
Start Time |
|---|---|---|---|
|
April 30 - May 4, 2017 |
Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands |
TBD |
