Long-term shedding of infectious epstein-barr virus after infectious mononucleosis.
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA loads in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), plasma, and saliva, as well as infectivity of the virus in saliva, were evaluated in 20 patients for 6 months after the onset of infectious mononucleosis (IM). All patients displayed sustained high EBV DNA loads in the saliva, associated with a persistent infectivity of saliva at day 180. EBV DNA load in PBMCs decreased significantly from day 0 to day 180 (in spite of a viral rebound between day 30 and day 90 in 90% of the patients), and EBV DNA rapidly disappeared from plasma. These data show that patients with IM remain highly infectious during convalescence.
Fafi-Kremer
Samira
S
Laboratoire de Virologie Moléculaire et Structurale, EA 2939, Universite Joseph Fourier, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Grenoble, France.
Morand
Patrice
P
Brion
Jean-Paul
JP
Pavese
Patricia
P
Baccard
Monique
M
Germi
Raphaele
R
Genoulaz
Odile
O
Nicod
Sandrine
S
Jolivet
Michel
M
Ruigrok
Rob W H
RW
Stahl
Jean-Paul
JP
Seigneurin
Jean-Marie
JM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000821:virology*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000821:virology; D013997:Time Factors; D019562:Viral Load; D017201:Virus Shedding
D004279:DNA, Viral