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Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Separation of Immune Cell Subpopulations in Peripheral Blood Samples from Children with Infectious Mononucleosis
Published on: September 7, 2022
[Determination of plasma EBV DNA in 91 children with EBV-associated diseases]
Hong-Mei Duan1, Yao Yao, Zheng-De Xie
1College of Nursing, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100102, China.
Insights
Plasma Epstein Barr virus (EBV) DNA levels decrease over time in children with primary EBV infection. Higher EBV DNA levels in severe EBV-associated diseases indicate greater disease severity.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Molecular Diagnostics
Context:
- Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is a common human herpesvirus that can cause a range of illnesses in children.
- Accurate assessment of EBV viral load is crucial for diagnosing and managing EBV-associated diseases.
- Understanding the dynamics of EBV DNA in plasma is essential for evaluating disease progression and severity.
Purpose:
- To quantify plasma Epstein Barr virus (EBV) DNA levels in pediatric patients.
- To investigate the temporal changes in EBV DNA following primary infection.
- To correlate EBV DNA levels with the clinical severity of EBV-associated conditions.
Summary:
- Plasma EBV DNA levels were measured in 73 children with primary EBV infection and 18 with severe EBV-associated diseases using real-time PCR.
- In primary EBV infections, plasma EBV DNA decreased significantly over time, becoming undetectable within two weeks.
- A significantly higher positive rate of plasma EBV DNA was observed in severe EBV-associated diseases (89%) compared to primary infections (16%).
Impact:
- Plasma EBV DNA levels serve as a valuable biomarker for assessing disease severity in pediatric EBV infections.
- Dynamic monitoring of EBV DNA can aid in clinical decision-making for children with EBV-related illnesses.
- These findings highlight the utility of quantitative EBV DNA analysis in pediatric virology.
Objective:
To determine the plasma level of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) DNA in children with EBV associated diseases, and to investigate the dynamic changes of EBV DNA level after initial infection as well as the relationship between EBV DNA level and the diseases severity.
Methods:
The subjects consisted of 73 children with primary EBV infection (infectious mononucleosis, pneumonia,etc.) and 18 children with severe EBV-associated diseases (chronic active EBV infection, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, etc.). The plasma EBV DNA level was detected by a real-time PCR assay.
Results:
The plasma EBV DNA level decreased with the infection time in children with primary EBV infection. Two weeks after infection, plasma EBV DNA was almost undetectable. The positive rate of plasma EBV DNA in children with severe EBV associated diseases increased significantly when compared with that in children with primary EBV infection (89% vs 16%; p<0.05).
Conclusions:
The level of EBV replication may be reduced with the infection time. Dynamic determination of blood EBV DNA is useful for the evaluation of disease severity in children with EBV infection.
