Epstein-Barr Virus

• Classic virology testing, confirmed by molecular virology, has clarified the epidemiology of EBV and its association with illness. EBV is a ubiquitous virus that causes infections, primarily among children and adolescents, resulting in a spectrum of disease from asymptomatic infection and self-limited infectious mononucleosis to lymphoproliferations in immunocompromised persons and associations with several malignancies of B-cell and epithelial lineages. • Diagnosis of EBV infection is established best by serologic testing. • Observational studies and expert opinion show that management of infectious mononucleosis is primarily supportive, with corticosteroids for selected complications such as upper airway obstruction. • EBV is associated with several malignancies of B-cell lineage as well as epithelial cell carcinomas and, most recently, leiomyosarcoma. • At present, the greatest potential benefit for developing an EBV vaccine is to reduce the risk for EBV-associated malignancies.