Epstein-Barr virus
EBV

Symptoms are not usually felt until 4-7 weeks after exposure to EBV.

Methods of diagnosing EBV in children are still being developed.

A relatively complex virus, EBV is not yet fully understood.

EBV appears to play an important role in these malignancies, but is probably not the sole cause of disease.

Most people become infected with EBV and gain adaptive immunity.

EBV affects the lymphocytes which are white blood cells involved in the adaptive immune system.

Some evidence claims that EBV is also commonly transmitted through sexual intercourse.

However, the sensitivity is only moderate, so a negative test does not exclude EBV.

EBV antibody tests turn up almost universally positive.

The effect on EBV latency was next examined.

Contrary to common belief, EBV is not highly contagious.

The site of persistence of EBV may be bone marrow.

EBV also establishes a lifelong dormant infection in some cells of the body's immune system.

When such an illness lasts more than 6 months, it is frequently called chronic EBV infection.

However, valid laboratory evidence for continued active EBV infection is seldom found in these patients.

EBV is now known to cause many types of leukaemias and lymphomas.

EBV is linked with tumor development.

Poorly differentiated squamous cell cancer has been associated with EBV antibodies.

For this test, a sample of blood is mixed with a substance that attaches to antibodies against EBV.

Latent EBV expresses its genes in one of three patterns, known as latency programs.

One popular way of studying EBV in vitro is to use bacterial artificial chromosomes.

It is important in establishing and maintaining the altered state that cells take when infected with EBV.

Other assays for detection of EBV are available, including serologic markers.

B-cell EBV genomes are detected in most affected patients.

The term viral tropism refers to which cell types EBV infects.