Epstein-Barr virus DNA in the blood of infants, young children, and adults by age and HIV status.
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methodology was used to detect Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from children and adults whose HIV status (i.e., infected or uninfected) is known. Initial EBV infections especially occurred in children between the ages of 7 and 24 months. EBV-positive children with vertically acquired HIV infection tended to have a detectable blood level of EBV DNA for a period of years, and their EBV DNA blood levels often exceeded 10,000 copies/0.1 ml of blood--hundreds of times higher than levels typically found in EBV-positive, HIV-uninfected children of the same age. EBV DNA was found in PBMCs in 26% of 49 HIV-infected mothers who were sampled during their pregnancy, but the median EBV DNA level in their EBV-positive samples was low--only 50 copies/0.1 ml blood. In limited tests with specimens from children infected with both HIV and EBV, high blood levels of EBV DNA unexpectedly appeared to be associated with decreased blood levels of HIV DNA (p = .063).
Brandt
C D
CD
Center for Virology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases Research, Children's Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA. brandtcd@aol.com
Sison
A V
AV
Rakusan
T A
TA
Saxena
E S
ES
Kaufman
T E
TE
O'Donnell
R M
RM
Sever
J L
JL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D004219:District of Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D012923:Social Class; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load
D004279:DNA, Viral