cytomegalovirus

noun

cy·​to·​meg·​a·​lo·​vi·​rus ˌsī-tə-ˌme-gə-lō-ˈvī-rəs 

1

: a herpesvirus (species Human herpesvirus 5 of the genus Cytomegalovirus) that in healthy individuals causes an infection that is asymptomatic or is accompanied by mild symptoms (such as fever or fatigue) but in immunocompromised individuals and newborns may cause an infection marked by serious, sometimes life-threatening symptoms (such as pneumonia, hepatitis, retinitis, brain inflammation, or seizures)

2

: infection with or disease caused by the cytomegalovirus

—abbreviation CMV

Examples of cytomegalovirus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pigs can carry viruses such as porcine cytomegalovirus, the one that was detected in Bennett, the person who received a pig heart transplant in 2022. —Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023

The Maryland researchers also detected traces of a latent pig virus, called porcine cytomegalovirus, or PCMV, in Bennett’s blood. —WIRED, 25 Sep. 2023

Moderna, too, had been working on a Zika vaccine, as well as vaccines against cytomegalovirus infection and cancers. —Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2023

The companies studied the use of mRNA vaccines for flu, cytomegalovirus and other illnesses. —Benjamin Mueller, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2023

But University of Maryland researchers revealed last year that traces of a porcine cytomegalovirus had shown up in blood draws taken from Bennett 20 days after his surgery. —Megan Molteni, STAT, 22 Sep. 2023

Studies have shown that the current patient is not infected with porcine cytomegalovirus or any other common pig viruses. —Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2023

Most cytomegaloviruses don’t cause disease, and each strain has evolved to infect only one species, so the risk of a cytomegalovirus vaccine jumping between species is very low. —Quanta Magazine, 24 Aug. 2020

As with her first outbreak of cytomegalovirus symptoms, isolation and illness proved transformative. —Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 2 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from cytomegalia + -o- + virus

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

cytomegalovirus

noun

cy·​to·​meg·​a·​lo·​vi·​rus ˌsīt-ə-ˌmeg-ə-lō-ˈvī-rəs 

1

: a herpesvirus (species Human herpesvirus 5 of the genus Cytomegalovirus) that in healthy individuals causes an infection that is asymptomatic or is accompanied by mild symptoms (as fever or fatigue) but in immunocompromised individuals and newborns may cause an infection marked by serious, sometimes life-threatening symptoms (as pneumonia, hepatitis, retinitis, brain inflammation, or seizures)

Note: Cytomegalovirus is transmitted chiefly in infected body fluids and secretions (such as urine or saliva) and causes enlargement of infected cells and formation of inclusion bodies.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a DNA herpesvirus with more than 200 genes, is a giant among viruses.

—Bernard Roizman, Science

Her vision was failing at that point from CMV, cytomegalovirus, a common and usually harmless bug that can turn vicious in AIDS cases.

—Peter Goldman and Lucille Beachy, Newsweek

Ganciclovir and foscarnet can be used to treat respiratory tract infections caused by cytomegalovirus in immunocompromised adults.

—Harvey B. Simon, Scientific American Medicine

2

: infection with or disease caused by the cytomegalovirus

Many of recent patients had also been treated for viral inflections such as herpes, cytomegalovirus and hepatitis B, as well as parasitic infections such as amoebiasis and giardiasis, the CDC said.

—The Springfield (Massachusetts) Morning Union

Cytomegalovirus retinitis can cause retinal detachment and these patients may complain of floaters, flashing lights, or loss of vision, although the onset of vision loss in these patients tends to occur more suddenly and can be described as a "curtain coming down over the eye."

—Scott M. Whitcup, The Journal of the American Medical Association

—abbreviation CMV