Clinical Syndromes Associated with Epstein-Barr Virus

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a double-stranded DNA virus of the herpes virus family. It is the causal agent in most cases of infectious mononucleosis and has a ubiquitous distribution, infecting over 90% of Caucasians by late adolescence 1. Since its discovery in cell lines derived from patients with Burkitt’s lymphoma in 1964, EBV has been implicated as the causal agent of this disease in endemic areas of Africa 2. Later, serologic studies suggested a role for EBV in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma 1. In both diseases, EBV serves as a co- carcinogen, acting in concert with other infectious agents (such as malaria) or with chemical factors. However, the consistent finding of serologic changes and EBV DNA in these tumors indicated an important viral role in pathogenesis 3. In recent years, EBV has been potentially associated with a wide variety of additional clinical syndromes ranging from rheumatoid arthritis to the chronic fatigue syndrome.