Up to 70% of adolescents and young adults in developed countries suffer from infectious mononucleosis.
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a member of the herpes virus family.
EBV is the first human tumor virus discovered and is strongly implicated in the etiology of multiple lymphoid and epithelial cancers, such as Burkitt lymphoma (BL), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and gastric carcinoma (GC).
There are no vaccines or treatments against EBV infection.
EBV is also the primary cause of infectious mononucleosis that could cause persistent fatigue for up to 6 months and cause severe neurologic, hematologic, or liver complications.
EBV has been shown to play a critical role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis.
Up to 70% of adolescents and young adults in developed countries suffer from infectious mononucleosis.
Each year EBV associated cancers account for over 200,000 new cases of cancer and cause 150,000 deaths worldwide.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/epstein-barr/about-ebv.html
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.734471
[Accessed: November 2022]