The Epstein-Barr Virus

Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a ubiquitos lympho- and epitheliotropic human herpesvirus. Although EBV infects >90% of the population worldwide it is rarely pathogenic to healthy individuals. Healthy virus carriers harbor 1 to 50 EBV genomes/million blood mononuclear cells.

How the virus affects the host?

In immunocompromised hosts such as AIDS-patients, and transplant recipients, EBV is a major risk factor for the development of lymphoproliferative disorders. EBV has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of several benign and malignant disorders including infectious mononucleosis, Hodgkin´s disease, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Patients with EBV related diseases often have high levels of EBV in blood cells, serum or plasma.

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