Evaluation of Epstein-Barr Virus Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay Results

Abstract

Aim: Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) causes Infectious Mononucleosis (IM) and chronic active EBV infections, malignant diseases such as Burkitt’s lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease. More than 90% of children are infected with EBV until the age of six. The aim of this study was to diagnose EBV infection using Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay (IIFA) method and to evaluate these patients clinically. Methods: The tests were studied by using EBV Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay (IIFA) method. A total of 247 patients, 186 adults, and 61 children, were included in the study. Results: Five (2.7%) of the adults were EBV-Capsid Antigen (EBV-CA) IgM positive, 175 (94.1%) were IgG positive and 6 (3.2%) were seronegative. 10 (16.4%) of the child patients were IgM positive, which is considered as an acute IM infection marker, whereas the child patients had a significantly higher IgM rate than adults (p <0.001). 39 (63.9%) of the child patients were IgG positive and 12 (19.7%) of them were seronegative. The rate of IgG positivity in children was significantly lower than in adults (p <0.001). There was no significant difference between the genders in terms of IgM and IgG positivity rates in both adults and children (p >0.05 for each). Conclusion: These results suggest that the presence of an acute EBV infection should be considered when the patient has viral diseases with similar clinical picture especially for children.