Epstein-Barr virus infection and associated diseases in children. I. Pathogenesis, epidemiology and clinical aspects

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), an ubiquitous human B lymphotropic virus, is the cause of infectious mononucleosis. Moreover, EBV infection can be followed by lymphoproliferative diseases in patients with inherited and acquired immunodeficiencies. Primary EBV infection may be a threat to all children after marrow or organ transplantation or those receiving chronic immunosuppressive treatment for various other reasons. The virus has been also implicated in the pathogenesis of different malignant tumours such as Burkitt lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin disease and some T-cell lymphomas. This review focuses on various aspects of virus-host interactions, immune mechanisms of the host, and the still experimental therapeutic approaches in EBV-associated diseases.