Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV for short, is also known in medicine as human herpes virus 4. It belongs to the group of herpes viruses and was first described by Michael Epstein and Yvonne Barr in 1964.
What is Epstein-Barr virus?
Epstein-Barr virus is a pathogen that is the trigger for Pfeiffer’s glandular fever, which is a febrile illness with headaches and aching limbs. The virus is transmitted by droplet infection, which has given the disease the popular name “kissing disease”. Acute infection with Epstein-Barr virus can be clearly identified by appropriate blood tests (either by direct detection of the virus or serologic antibody determinations).
Significance and function
Infection with Epstein-Barr virus can occur through blood, mucosal contacts, or saliva. For this reason, infection is possible not only during kissing but also during normal skin and hand contacts. The viruses can also survive outside the human body for up to three days, depending on the respective environmental milieu. The main ports of entry for the pathogen are the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes and the mouth. They usually reach these sites via the hands of the affected person. Basically, the Epstein-Barr virus disease can be divided into an acute and a chronic state. In contrast to the acute form of the disease, the serological antibody findings in the chronic form are often less clear. Often, in the chronic form, only small amounts of individual long-term antibodies are present in the serum of the blood, which are also permanently present in the blood after an acute infection. Direct detection of the viruses in the blood of the affected person is much more conclusive than the usual antibody test. This makes it possible to reliably diagnose a chronic infection with the Epstein-Barr virus. The current immune status of the body is decisive for whether and to what extent the affected person shows symptoms of disease after an infection with the Epstein-Barr virus. Thus, if the immune system is intact and strong, an infection does not necessarily lead to disease. However, should the immune system of the affected person already be weakened, the Epstein-Barr viruses can infect individual body regions or even the entire body of the affected person without much resistance, which explains various symptoms.
Diseases
Particularly frequently affected by the Epstein-Barr virus are the brain, liver, muscles and joints, as well as certain nerves and organs, but also the blood, respectively the red and white blood cells. The intensity of the respective symptoms is strongly dependent on the psyche and overall condition of the body of the affected person. For this reason, either the same symptoms can be observed permanently in those affected or certain phases in which the sufferer feels significantly better. The following symptoms are particularly common after infection with Epstein-Barr virus:
- Headache (infection of the various cerebral areas).
- Epileptic seizures (infection of different areas of the brain).
- Mental impairment (infection of different brain areas).
- A slightly elevated body temperature, which can sometimes rise to 38 degrees (especially in children due to infection of the temperature center in the brain).
- More or less pronounced deficits in concentration and attention.
- Memory disorders
- Problems falling asleep and staying asleep
- Chronic fatigue and permanent exhaustion.
- Inner restlessness
- Nerve pain (infection of the various highly sensitive nerves).
- Thyroid disorders (hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism).
- Cardiac arrhythmias, palpitations or heart pain (infection of the heart muscle or conduction system).
- Liver dysfunction with excretion disorders for environmental toxins and metabolic end product (either with or without elevated liver enzymes).
- Enlargement of the spleen
- Acute or chronic kidney problems, for example, in the form of kidney pain or blood in the urine.
- Swelling of the lymph nodes
- Rheumatism-like discomfort of the joints
- Changes in blood count (destruction of various blood cells; in extreme cases, there may be a decrease in all blood cells).
- Pain in the testicles
- Pain in the ovaries
Of course, all the symptoms listed above can in principle be associated with other diseases. For this reason, a clear diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus is of great importance in order to initiate appropriate therapeutic measures. In many cases, affected individuals have already had to go through a veritable medical odyssey before the correct diagnosis could be made.
