Epstein-Barr virus

• DOI: 10.5581/1516-8484.20110103
• Publication Date: 2011-11-17T15:25:52Z
• Authors: Luciana Cristina ...; Irina N Riediger; Sueli M Nakatani; Alexander W Biondo; Carmem M Bonfim
• Keywords: Mononucleosis

The Epstein-Barr virus is responsible for infectious mononucleosis syndrome and is also closely associated to several types of cancer. The main complication involving Epstein-Barr virus infection, both in recipients of hematopoietic stem cells and solid organs, is post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. The importance of this disease has increased interest in the development of laboratory tools to improve post-transplant monitoring and to detect the disease before clinical evolution. Viral load analysis for Epstein-Barr virus through real-time polymerase chain reaction is, at present, the best tool to measure viral load. However, there is not a consensus on which sample type is the best for the test and what is its predictive value for therapeutic interventions.