Time to Consider Cytomegalovirus Prevention in Critically Ill Patients?

Approximately 50% to 60% of the North American population is infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), a DNA herpes-virus that establishes lifelong latency in various cell types. For the vast majority of the population, the virus is maintained in latency through T-cell control although other cell types such as natural killer cells, monocytes, and macrophages also play a role. Thus, for a healthy immunocompetent individual, there is minimal long-term consequence of infection outside of certain settings, such as congenital CMV. Here, Kumar and Humar talk about Limaye and colleagues' study on the prevention of cytomegalovirus in critically ill patients.