Female Research Volunteers Needed for Cytomegalovirus Vaccine Study
The Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the School of Medicine is recruiting healthy females for a study on human cytomegalovirus (CMV). To learn more, go to this webpage.
You may be eligible if you are:
- A female
- 16 to 35 years old
- In good health
- Have exposure to young children
Participation lasts about three years. You will receive three investigational vaccinations. You will be compensated for your time and transportation. For more information, call 410-706-6156 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Human CMV also is known as human herpesvirus 5 (HHV-5). Contracting CMV appears to require close or intimate contact with persons who are releasing CMV in their urine, saliva, or other secretions. CMV also can be transmitted via blood transfusion, breast milk, sexual intercourse, and transplanted organs.
In most healthy individuals, CMV infection is symptom-free. When symptoms are present, they are often mild, can be confused with other illnesses, and include fever, sore throat, fatigue, and/or swollen glands. After infection, the virus remains in the body. Healthy individuals with latent CMV infection can reactivate to shed the virus in their saliva or urine, which also is predominantly symptom-free. It is known that CMV can cause serious disease in newborns who are exposed during the pregnancy and in immuno-compromised individuals. The range of disease in newborns with CMV infection includes fetal/infant death to neurological and sensory impairments, which are diagnosed later in childhood.