CMV Call to Action

Many of you have asked me what you can do to help. Now's your chance! If you are reading this blog, or if you are a friend or acquaintance of mine, you know enough about CMV to write a letter for me.

We have a print hearing coming up soon to pass the first CMV bill in Idaho. We want to have as many letters as possible at the hearing to provide to legislators.

It doesn't need to be fancy. It doesn't need to be long. Just write a statement saying how you have been affected by CMV. Or how you have seen ME be affected by CMV. Tell them why you think it is important that there be more public awareness and education about CMV in the state of Idaho.

Then email your letter to Idaho CMV Advocacy Project at idahocmv@gmail.com OR to me at bekahelise@msn.com.

This means so much to my colleague and I.

If you are still reading...

• Most of you had never heard of CMV until you heard about it from me.  
• WRITE ABOUT THAT!
• Surely you've heard about Downs Syndrome, which affects 4000 U.S. children per year. Surely you've heard about HIV, which affects 100 U.S. children per year. You may have even heard of Toxoplasmosis (you know, the stay-away-from-the-litter-box-while-you're-pregnant one?) which affects up to 4,000 U.S. babies per year. CMV AFFECTS 5500 U.S. BABIES PER YEAR!! Prenatal care in Europe includes CMV prevention. Why not here?

• Some of you have told me that you asked your doctor about CMV and they said it's not that common
• WRITE ABOUT THAT! 
• 1 in 150 babies are born with CMV. Of those, 1 in 5 have long-term disabilities because of it.  
• Some of you have told me that your doctor said, "If you were infected, there's nothing you could do about it anyway." 
• WRITE ABOUT THAT!
• There are options for antiviral treatment and immune globulin injections for some women. More research is being done as we speak. 
• Some of you have told me that your doctor advised you not to be around me or Keira for the duration of your pregnancy "to be safe." 
• WRITE ABOUT THAT!
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infected children should not be excluded from school or other settings. Children born with CMV pose no threat to their peers and are NO MORE OF A THREAT TO THOSE AT RISK FOR CMV INFECTION (ie. pregnant women) THAN WOULD ANY OTHER PERSON!!
• The information that is currently available to women in Idaho is NOT accurately or adequately addressing the PREVELENCE, the SEVERITY, or the PREVENTABILITY of CMV. 
• WRITE ABOUT THAT!
• Perhaps most importantly, CMV is totally preventable....IF we know what to do. 
• WRITE ABOUT THAT
• CMV is most readily transmitted from wet saliva to wet saliva. Pregnant women most often get CMV from the toddlers they parent/work with. The best way to avoid CMV is to avoid sharing food, drinks, and utensils with others. Avoid wet kisses from toddlers. Practice good hand washing. 

• PLEASE don't hesitate to cut and paste any of this information. 

What are we asking for? We're starting simple. This year, we are hoping to pass a bill that will enable Health and Welfare to run an educational program and provide awareness materials to physicians and pregnant women all over the state.

Here is our purpose statement:

The purpose of the CMV bill will ensure that the women of Idaho and their doctors have access to the most accurate and up-to-date information available regarding cytomegalovirus prevention, infection, and treatment. Appropriate dissemination of this information will foreseeably prevent the infection of numerous babies in utero, thereby saving the state of Idaho millions of dollars in the care and treatment of various disabilities that are associated with congenital cytomegalovirus infection.