Published on 07/31/2006

Epstein-Barr virus refers to as EBV, is a constituent of the herpes virus family. The virus occurs wide reaching, and most people happen to infect with EBV sometime all through their lives. In the United States, most of the adults have been infected.

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Infants become susceptible to EBV as soon as maternal antibody protection (present at birth) disappears. Many children happen to infect with EBV, and these infections generally cause no symptoms and are impossible to tell apart from the other mild, epigrammatic illnesses of childhood. When infection with EBV occurs during adolescence or young adulthood, it causes infectious mononucleosis 35% to 50% of the time.

Symptoms

The symptoms of infectious mononucleosis are fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands. Periodically, an enlarged spleen or liver attachment may develop. Consequently heart problems or involvement of the central nervous system occurs rarely, and infectious mononucleosis is never fatal. There are no known links between active EBV infection and problems during pregnancy, such as miscarriages. Even though the symptoms of infectious mononucleosis usually resolve in 1 or 2 months, EBV relics concealed or latent in a few cells in the throat and blood for the rest of the person's life. Sporadically, the virus may activate again and is normally originate in the saliva of infected persons. This reactivation usually occurs without symptoms of illness.

Reactivation

Due to the existence of antibodies to EBNA, an increase of antibodies to premature antigen suggests reactivation. Nevertheless, when EBV antibody to the early antigen test is present, this never implies that EBV causes a patient?s present medical condition. A number of healthy people with no symptoms have antibodies to the EBV early antigen for years after their preliminary EBV infection.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for infectious mononucleosis, other than treating the symptoms. No antiviral drugs or vaccines are available. Some physicians have prescribed a 5-day course of steroids to control the swelling of the throat and tonsils. The use of steroids has also been reported to decrease the overall length and severity of illness, but these reports have not been published.

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