title: Long-term shedding of infectious epstein-barr virus after infectious mononucleosis.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Virologie Moléculaire et Structurale, EA 2939, Universite Joseph Fourier, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Samira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fafi-Kremer
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Morand
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Brion
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pavese
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baccard
authors.forename: Raphaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Germi
authors.forename: Odile
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Genoulaz
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nicod
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jolivet
authors.forename: Rob W H
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Ruigrok
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Seigneurin
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral