title: Epstein-Barr virus: general factors, virus-related diseases and measurement of viral load after transplant.
abstract: The Epstein-Barr virus is responsible for infectious mononucleosis syndrome and is also closely associated to several types of cancer. The main complication involving Epstein-Barr virus infection, both in recipients of hematopoietic stem cells and solid organs, is post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease. The importance of this disease has increased interest in the development of laboratory tools to improve post-transplant monitoring and to detect the disease before clinical evolution. Viral load analysis for Epstein-Barr virus through real-time polymerase chain reaction is, at present, the best tool to measure viral load. However, there is not a consensus on which sample type is the best for the test and what is its predictive value for therapeutic interventions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Central do Estado do Paraná - LACEN, São José dos Pinhais, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana Cristina Fagundes
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Gequelin
authors.forename: Irina N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Riediger
authors.forename: Sueli M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Nakatani
authors.forename: Alexander W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Biondo
authors.forename: Carmem M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Bonfim