[Condition of Epstein Barr virus infection in hospitalized children from Wuhan region].
OBJECTIVE
To study the condition and clinical characteristics of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infection in hospitalized children from Wuhan region.


METHODS
A total of 14 840 hospitalized children were classified into five age groups: less than 6 months old, 6 months to 1 year old, 1 to 3 years old, 3 to 7 years old and 7 to 15 years old. The antibodies IgM and IgG to EBV capsid antigen (VCA) were detected using ELISA.


RESULTS
In the 14 840 hospitalized children, 7 899 were positive for EBV antibodies, with an infection rate of 53.23%. The positive rate of VCA-IgM was 4.05% (601/14 840) and that of VCA-IgG was 49.18% (7 298/14 840). The lowest positive rate of VCA-IgM (0.11%) was found in the group of less than 6 months old and the highest positive rate of VCA-IgG (79.83%) was found in the group of 7 to 15 years old. Of the 601 children with positive VCA-IgM, 429 (71.4%) suffered from respiratory tract infection.


CONCLUSIONS
EBV infection is very common in hospitalized children in Wuhan. Respiratory tract infection is a leading disease in children with positive EBV antibodies. The infection rate of EBV in different age groups is different.
Department of Clinical Laboratories, Wuhan Medical and Health Center for Women and Children, Wuhan 430016, China.
Xiu-Zhen
XZ
Liu
Lian
L
Jiang
Xiao-Mei
XM
Wang
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; C041788:Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen; D007075:Immunoglobulin M