A Rare Presentation of Colitis in an Immunocompetent Child due to Cytomegalovirus Infection

stools with an increased frequency of 10-12 times/day.There was no associated history of fever, pain in the abdomen, vomiting, intake of contaminated food/water, loss of appetite, or yellowish discoloration of the eyes and urine.His birth history, diet, and developmental history were unremarkable.His immunization was up to date.He had no family history of similar illness.There was no history of contact with tuberculosis.On admission, he was sick looking and pale, conscious and cooperative.Vitals were stable with a pulse rate of 90/minute, respiratory rate of 32/minute, blood pressure was 110/60 mm Hg measured in the right upper limb in the sitting posture, and SpO 2 IntroductIonCytomegalovirus (CMV), a member of the Herpesviridae family, is a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus that is a leading cause of virus-associated congenital infections or can also be acquired.1 Between 50 and 80% of the world's population is seropositive for CMV. 2 Most clinical disease occurs in individuals previously infected with CMV (seropositive) and therefore represents either reactivation of latent infection or reinfection with a new strain.3 In immunocompetent hosts, it is typically asymptomatic or responsible for mild, undifferentiated viral symptoms.2 Very rarely, serious CMV infection has occurred in individuals with a healthy immune system.4 Here, we have described CMV colitis in an immunocompetent child who was admitted with symptoms of gastroenteritis and diagnosed as CMV colitis after extensive workup. case descrIptIonA 6-year-old boy born out of a nonconsanguineous marriage was admitted with a history of passage of fresh blood-mixed stool for 25 days prior to admission.The stool was initially watery in consistency, mixed with fresh blood, occurred at a frequency of 6-7 times/day, was small in volume, and nonfoulsmelling.It was not associated with pain during defecation or a sensation of incomplete evacuation following defecation.On suspicion of probable gastrointestinal infection, the child was treated empirically with oral antibiotics for 10 days from outside, following which his symptoms improved transiently, but subsequently he presented with blood-mixed semisolid 1-