Normal range: Negative
Comment: Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is a widely disseminated human pathogen which commonly causes infection in early childhood, resulting in asymptomatic or mild disease. However, individuals who contract infection with EBV in early adult life frequently develop classic infectious mononucleosis with symptoms of fever, pharyngitis, and cervical factors, in particular the immune competence of the individual, determine the clinical and pathologic expression of the disease. EBV infections can result in complications involving the neurologic, cardiac, ocular, respiratory, hematologic, digestive and renal system. Reactivation of laten infection has also been implicated in persistent illness referred to in recent literature as the EBV-Associated Fatigue syndrome. Infection with EBV results in the expression of multiple antigens with corresponding antibody response. Of these, viral capsid antigen (VCA), early antigen (EA), and nuclear antigen (NA) are most useful diagnostically. At the onset of primary infection with EBV, VCA IgG, VCA IgM, and EA antibody levels are elevated. Anti- NA levels begin to rise several weeks or months thereafter and remain at measurable titers, normally 1:10-1:160, indefinitely due to the persistent viral carrier state established following primary EBV infection. The lack of anti-EA antibodies is useful in establishing the presence of an acute primary infection
Sample: serum