Cytomegalovirus (CMV), is a genus of Herpes viruses; in humans the species is known as Human herpesvirus 5 (HHV-5). It belongs to the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily of Herpesviridae. The name means "very big cell virus".
CMV is said to infect 50%-85% of people in the United States over the age of 40, and 90.8% of people over the age of 80. It seems almost impossible to prevent the spread of this virus. It can be transferred through any bodily fluid, so your wife is susceptible to the virus, but then again there’s a decent chance she already has it. It can cause birth defects in children; however, you would have to pass the disease on to your wife, or she would need to contract it herself for there to be any risk at all, just because you have the virus, doesn’t mean you will pass it along in your DNA to your child.
Your doctor is right that the virus will be harmless, it usually is once past the initial infection stage, and even that is often very minor and needs no treatment. Visit your doctor and discuss this with him or her, but some tips for pregnant women who do not want to contract CMV are:
• Throughout the pregnancy, practice good personal hygiene, especially hand-washing with soap and water, after contact with diapers or oral secretions (particularly with a child who is in day care).
• Women who develop a mononucleosis-like illness during pregnancy should be evaluated for CMV infection and counseled about the possible risks to the unborn child.
• Laboratory testing for antibody to CMV can be performed to determine if a woman has already had CMV infection.
• Recovery of CMV from the cervix or urine of women at or before the time of delivery does not warrant a cesarean section.
• The demonstrated benefits of breast-feeding outweigh the minimal risk of acquiring CMV from the breast-feeding mother.
• There is no need to either screen for CMV or exclude CMV-excreting children from schools or institutions because the virus is frequently found in many healthy children and adults.
