Infectious Diseases and Microbiology - Infectious Mononucleosis ( Epstein Barr Virus)

​Infectious Diseases and Microbiology - Infectious Mononucleosis ( Epstein Barr Virus) 
The most frequent cause of infectious mononucleosis in young people is the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
EBV is spread throughout the world through saliva.
 
Fever, pharyngitis, exhaustion, headache, malaise, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and increased liver enzymes are the hallmarks of infectious mononucleosis. While most symptoms go away on their own, exhaustion can linger for months. EBV has a close relationship with Burkitt lymphoma, nasopharyngeal cancer, and Hodgkin disease in addition to lymphoproliferative disorders.

EBV causes a latent infection that lasts a lifetime by starting the infection in oropharyngeal cells and moving on to infiltrate B lymphocytes. EBV causes B cells to proliferate and becomes immortal.
B-cell proliferation is regulated by cytotoxic T cells. Years later, EBV-associated malignancies may arise from latent infection and the immortalization of a tiny percentage of B cells. EBV-associated cancers frequently include EBV DNA and proteins.

A blood smear is used to detect EBV mononucleosis when aberrant lymphocytes, or Downey cells, are visible. For EBV infectious mononucleosis, a heterophile antibody-positive test result (Monospot test) is diagnostic. EBV infection can be diagnosed by serologic tests that are unique to EBV.  Neither a vaccine nor a specialized antiviral treatment exist to prevent EBV infection.

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