Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation main page

Public Awareness and Vaccine Research Support. Working Together to Eradicate Congenital CMV Disease.
Member of the External Partner Group, in conjunction with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental
Disabilities (NCBDDD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation |

The Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) dedicated to
raising public awareness about congenital CMV, to raise donations to support research for a vaccine
for CMV, and to affect change in the medical community so that physicians will begin to test women
for CMV prior to pregnancy. Ultimately, our mission is to save babies yet to be born from suffering
the often devastating consequences of congenital CMV by eradicating this common but potentially
life-altering virus.

HOW CAN I PROTECT MYSELF AND MY UNBORN BABY?

If you are not already pregnant, find out your CMV status

prior

to getting pregnant.

If your blood test

indicates that you have never had CMV, discuss the risks with your doctor, and closely

follow CDC guidelines

for taking extra hygienic precautions while you are pregnant.

See:

www.cdc.gov/cmv

Remember, this includes care in handling bodily fluids of children 6 years of age or younger

including your

own children

as in changing diapers (wear disposable gloves), not sharing

utensils or drinking glasses with

them,

don't put their

pacifier

in your mouth,

and avoiding kissing

any children on the mouth or cheek.

Extra

hygienic precautions also include using a condom during sexual relations with your partner

if you are CMV

negative to help prevent transmission of the virus via semen.

Wash your hands often and well

(at least 20 seconds) with soap and water,

especially after contact with

saliva or after changing diapers of young children.

If you work with young children and have never been

infected with CMV or you don’t know your status,

if possible you may want to consider changing to working

with older children

while you are pregnant

At the very least,

please

follow the CDC guidelines for extra

hygienic precautions.

IS THERE A TEST TO FIND OUT MY CMV STATUS?

Yes. A simple blood test can determine if a woman has already had a CMV infection and therefore would

be carrying antibodies which provide some level of immunity against further infections.

All women should be tested prior to pregnancy to determine their CMV status. And while good hygiene

and taking extra precautions while pregnant is currently still the best way to protect your unborn baby, if

you find out your CMV status and know it is negative, you can make some lifestyle changes during your

pregnancy

that could help prevent you from contracting the virus.

For example, if through testing you find out you are seronegative to CMV, meaning never having had

a CMV

infection and therefore there is a greater risk of your unborn baby being born with congenital

CMV, and you

are working in a high risk environment, you can make decisions based on the information

you have gained by

testing for your CMV status. Such as, if you are negative to CMV and you are pregnant

and working in a

daycare or with preschool-aged children, you are in a high risk environment for

contracting the infection and

could consider changing jobs for the duration of your pregnancy. Or, if you

have a child under the age of 6,

you

would want to follow the CDC recommendations and not kiss

your child on or near the mouth or cheek,

not share any glasses or utensils, and be extra cautious to

not be exposed to his/her bodily fluids for the

duration of your pregnancy.

These are just some

examples

of what a woman

may

choose to do based on her getting tested for CMV

and finding out she has not had the infection previously.

Each woman will need to make her own choice in

what is right for her, but by being tested and by having knowledge of CMV, at least a woman will then

be able to make an informed decision and do all she can to safeguard her unborn baby.

This is why we at

the Brendan B. McGinnis Congenital CMV Foundation are working to get all OB-GYN’s to

counsel their

patients about CMV and to subsequently test them for CMV

prior to pregnancy

IS THERE A CURE OR A VACCINE FOR CMV?

No, there is no cure and no vaccine, although a drug called ganciclovir is useful for some babies with

congenital CMV. If your baby has congenital CMV infection, you should discuss the option of ganciclovir

with your baby's Doctor. Funding to support these researchers is also very limited. This is one reason why

we are committed to raising funds to help support research for a vaccine. It is also our hope that through

increased public awareness there will be enough public outcry to pressure the government and othe

private entities to contribute financially to vaccine development. This terrible virus can be eradicated if

only we can find a vaccine.

For more information on CMV vaccine research, click here.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP FIND A VACCINE AND PUT AN END TO CMV?

There is limited funding available for this research. One goal of the Foundation is to raise donations to help

support vaccine research. We know from our experience with congenital rubella (German Measles), a virus

infection that used to cause birth defects in newborns a generation ago, that an effective vaccine can

effectively eradicate the disease from the population altogether. Through increased public awareness,

combined with increased pressure on the medical community to educate and test women, it is our hope

that funding for vaccine research will be increased substantially. Until that time, we rely on public donations

to support these goals. Please remember us when you are making your charitable contributions.

DONATE NOW

Also, please help us raise public awareness by sharing this website and related information with others.

Encourage doctors you know to include CMV counseling and testing as part of their standard protocol.

Prevention Strategies