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Signs and symptoms
In most cases, cytomegalovirus remains asymptomatic or causes a very mild disease that goes unnoticed. Still, in the immunocompetent host, cytomegalovirus may result in lung disease (mainly pneumonia), liver problems (transaminitis), an increase in the volume of the spleen, encephalitis, or colitis in case of gastrointestinal tract infection. The blood values may change in different types of cytopenia.
The most common signs and symptoms include:
1) Fever
In immunocompetent patients, the fever is tagged as “fever of unknown origin” because there is often no other sign of infection. Fever is often the only sign but resolves after a few days. In some cases, there could be persistent fever, in which case many studies should be made to locate the cause of the infection. In cytomegalovirus pneumonia, there is not always cough and respiratory symptoms to guide the diagnosis, but X-rays show signs of infection. The fever usually starts one week after the infection or more.
