Mary D. Nettleman, MD, MS, MACP is the Chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt Medical School, and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Indiana University.
Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.
The virus was first discovered in 1964
when Sir Michael Anthony Epstein and Yvonne Mr. Barr found it in a Burkitt lymphoma cell line. In 1968, the
virus was linked to the disease infectious mononucleosis. Infection with
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is very common and usually occurs in childhood or early
adulthood. In fact, up to 95% of people in the U.S. have been infected with EBV.
EBV is the cause of infectious mononucleosis (also termed "mono"), an illness
associated with fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, and
sometimes an enlarged spleen. Less commonly, EBV can cause more serious disease.
Symptoms caused by EBV are usually mild and self-limited, but the virus persists
in the body for life. It can reactivate quietly without causing symptoms and
may contaminate saliva. Thus, otherwise healthy people can spread the virus to
uninfected people through kissing or sharing food. Hence, mononucleosis is
sometimes known as the "kissing disease." EBV probably plays a role in the
development of some cancers including certain lymphomas and nasopharyngeal
cancer.
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A virus in the herpes family that is best known as the cause of infectious mononucleosis (also called mono and glandular fever). Abbreviated EBV. EBV infection is characterized by fatigue and general malaise. Infection with EBV is common and is normally temporary and minor. However, in some individuals EBV can trigger chronic illness, including immune and lymphoproliferative syndromes. It is a particular danger to people with compromised immune systems, including those with AIDS. Treatment is with antiviral medication and rest. Also known as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4).
