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Epstein-Barr Virus Antibodies:

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies are a group of tests that are ordered to help diagnose a current, recent, or past EBV infection.

EBV is a member of the herpes virus family. Passed through the saliva, the virus causes an infection that is very common.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , as many as 95% of people in the United States will have been infected by EBV by the time they are 40 years old.

After exposure to the virus, there is an incupation period of several weeks. EBV then causes an acute primary infection, followed by resolution and dormancy.

Latent EBV remains in the person’s body for the rest of his life, reactivating intermittently, but causing few problems unless the person’s immune system is significantly compromised.


symptoms
Most people are infected by EBV in childhood and experience few or no symptoms, even in the acute phase of the infection. However, when the initial infection is delayed until adolescence, EBV causes infectious mononucleosis (Mono) in about 35 – 50% of those infected.

Mono is a condition that is associated with fatigue, fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, an enlarged spleen, and, sometimes, an enlarged liver. Those who have it are usually symptomatic for a month or two before the initial infection resolves.


Diagnoses
Epstein-Barr virus antigen. They include IgM and IgG

Capsid Antigen, IgM; Epstein-Barr Virus Antibody to Viral Capsid Antigen,
IgG; Epstein-Barr Virus Antibody to Nuclear Antigen

diagnosed by their symptoms and the findings of a complete blood count (CBC) and a Mono test (which tests for a heterophile antibody). A certain percentage of those who have mono will have a negative mono test; this is especially true with children.

EBV antibodies can be used to determine whether or not the symptoms these patients are experiencing are due to a current infection with the EBV virus

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