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[Epstein-Barr virus infection in patients after bone marrow and heart transplantation]
B Zawilińska1, K Gruszka, B Piatkowska-Jakubas
1Zakład Wirusologii Katedra Mikrobiologii CM UJ w Krakowie.
Unlabelled:
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections in immunosuppressed patients cause the severe clinical problems. Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) might occur as a result of the latent EBV activation.
Objective:
Occurrence of active EBV infection in heart and bone marrow transplant patients.
Methods:
68 serum samples obtained from 13 allogenic bone marrow and 20 heart transplant patients were tested by IF and ELISA methods. Antibodies against VCA, EA and EBNA antigens were measured.
Results:
All patients showed the presence of anti-VCA IgG antibodies, thus all were seropositive. Three patients (9%) showed primary EBV infection while in 12 (36%) patients virus reactivation or reinfection was confirmed.
Conclusions:
1. EBV infection in immunosuppressed patients is mainly caused by latent virus reactivation. 2. Type of EBV infection can be confirmed serologically only by the detection of specific anti-VCA, EA and EBNA antibodies. 3. The risk of PTLD in transplant patients creates the need for frequent monitoring.