The Forgotten Cytomegalovirus!
“Rectal bleeding: New complication of Covid-19”
“CMV or cytomegalovirus is a common virus. This virus rarely causes a problem in healthy people, but can have severe effects on people with a weak immune system. The body retains this virus for a lifetime once infected. CMV mainly spreads from one person to another through bodily fluids like saliva and blood.
There is no cure, but the symptoms can be managed by medications. CMV affects people only with weak immunity and the majority of the people who get affected remain unaware”.
“The second wave of the pandemic has added some new complications of coronavirus to the list, ‘Rectal bleeding’ is one of them. The main cause of rectal bleeding was said to be due to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection.
There can be many reasons for rectal bleeding in patients affected with Covid-19”.
“How has the virus affected people with Covid”?
“If a person who is Covid positive or post recovery has abdominal pain or traces of blood in their stool, should be assessed by a doctor. The cases that were reported so far complained of lower gastrointestinal bleed and with intestinal obstruction.
Infections like Covid and the medications used to treat it tend to suppress the immunity of patients and make them susceptible to uncommon infections that have varied presentations.
Infections like CMV, mucormycosis and white fungus are opportunistic infections that affect people with weak immune systems, as it was earlier seen in immunocompromised patients such as patients affected with cancer or HIV positive people” .
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/rectal-bleeding-new-complication-of-covid-19/
Complications in COVID-19 patients, due to Cytomegalovirus (CMV) :
“COVID-19 is an ongoing global pandemic that causes significant morbidity and mortality. Although severe pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are seen in the foreground, it causes widespread diseases, involving multiple organ systems in severe cases.
Various immunosuppressive agents, such as corticosteroids and interleukin antagonists, are used in the treatment of COVID-19. Thus, immune paralysis due to severe COVID-19, sepsis, and drugs used for its treatment cause secondary bacterial/fungal infections and viral reactivation.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation occurs in 30% of immunocompetent patients with ARDS and is associated with increased mortality. CMV reactivation is important because it causes prolonged invasive mechanical ventilation, increases the incidence of secondary infections, prolongs intensive care unit (ICU) stay, and increases the mortality rate”.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9326950/
Credits:
İrem Akdemir Kalkan, Neslihan Defne Altıntaş, and Fügen Yörük
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a type of herpesvirus that infects people of all ages across the world. It is a common virus that can cause a variety of symptoms ranging from mild to severe.
While many people who are infected with CMV may not experience any symptoms, it can cause serious illness in people with weakened immune systems.
In recent times, there has been some evidence to suggest that CMV infection can complicate COVID-19 patients' condition.
CMV is a widespread virus, with up to 60% of adults in the United States and 90% of adults in developing countries having been infected at some point in their lives.
CMV can be transmitted through bodily fluids like blood, urine, saliva, and breast milk. The virus can also be transmitted through sexual contact and organ transplantation.
Pregnant women can also pass the virus on to their unborn baby, which can cause severe birth defects.
In most healthy individuals, CMV infection is usually asymptomatic or causes only mild symptoms like fever, fatigue, and muscle aches.
Once a person is infected with CMV, the virus remains in their body for life, and they may experience periods of active infection and latency.
During periods of active infection, the virus may cause symptoms, while during periods of latency, the virus remains dormant in the body.
In COVID-19 patients, there is some evidence to suggest that CMV infection can complicate their condition.
This is because CMV can weaken the immune system, making it harder for the body to fight off other infections.
Additionally, patients who are already immunocompromised due to COVID-19 may be more susceptible to CMV infection.
Studies have shown that CMV co-infection is more common in severe cases of COVID-19 and can lead to longer hospital stays, increased need for mechanical ventilation, and higher mortality rates.
The extent and frequency of CMV co-infection in COVID-19 patients is still being studied, and more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between these two viruses.
Here are a few studies :
https://jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13256-022-03259-0
“CMV coinfection is an emerging threat in critically ill COVID-19 patients and may aggravate the damage caused by an underlying COVID infection, especially in critical care settings,”.
“CMV seropositivity is furthermore associated with cardiovascular comorbidities as well as a higher incidence of thromboembolic events [8–11], which have already been linked to an increased risk for severe COVID-19 or have been shown to be a complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection [12]”.
In conclusion, cytomegalovirus is a common virus that can infect people without causing any symptoms or cause serious illness in people with weakened immune systems.
While there is some evidence to suggest that CMV infection can complicate COVID-19 patients' condition, more research is needed to fully understand the relationship between these two viruses.
As the world continues to battle COVID-19, it is important to be aware of the potential complications that can arise from co-infection with other viruses like CMV.
Credits:,Information sourced from Grok 2
A couple years before cv when donating blood the nurse told me "You're negative for CMV". I said oh ok didn't know you checked for that. She said "We are now". And on the spot no less. When cv hit I read a paper about reactivated CMV with cv infection. Immediately brought to mind the Red Cross suddenly testing for CMV.