No abstract

(1972) were also able to demonstrate EB virus IgM in cases of infectious mononucleosis by immunofluorescence.As IgM is the antibody present during acute infection this evidence confirmed the connection between infectious mononucleosis and primary infection with EB virus. This had already been clearly indicated by the work of Niederman et al (1970) in the USA. They studied university student cases of infectious mononucleosis from whom stored pre-illness sera were available. They had found, using the immunofluorescence test for EB viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG described by

sYNoPsis A study of EB virus antibody was undertaken in a boarding school for boys between 11 and 18 years of age; 35 % of boys had EBV antibody when first sampled and a small number acquired antibody each year. Some of these boys had had no recorded illness during the period before the first positive sample and some developed classic infectious mononucleosis which was accompanied by a positive heterophil antibody test and detection of EB virus specific IgM. In a school of 800 boys there were 13 cases of infectious mononucleosis in four years.