How to prevent EBV infection?

EBV is a herpes virus that often occurs in the patient's nasopharynx and often leads to the occurrence of malignant tumors, the most common of which is nasopharyngeal carcinoma. It can infect human epithelial cells and lymphocytes. Many nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients in southern my country can often be detected with the presence of this virus. From a prevention perspective, we must develop good living habits and prevent transmission through saliva.

Prevention of Epstein-Barr Virus Infection

1. Based on the fact that EBV is mainly transmitted through saliva, you should develop good personal hygiene habits and refrain from spitting.

2. It is strictly forbidden to feed the baby mouth-to-mouth.

3. Vaccination with Epstein-Barr virus vaccine (successfully developed in China). There are currently two vaccines available. One of them is a smallpox vaccine constructed in my country using genetic engineering methods that simultaneously expresses EBv gp320 and HBsAg. It is mainly used in areas with a high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The other is a purified viral gp320 membrane protein vaccine, which is being administered on a small scale to university students in the UK to see if the vaccine can reduce the incidence of infectious mononucleosis.

EBV infection care

1. Colds, long-term fatigue or transient elevations may result in a positive EB test result. So it is not necessarily an EB virus infection and there is no need to be overly nervous. Moreover, natural infection with EB virus is very common in humans, so it is not surprising to find positive immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies for EB virus in a blood test. But if the immunoglobulin EA (IgA) antibody is positive, you should be alert. If there are no clinical symptoms, generally don't worry too much. If you are really worried, you can go to the hospital for a check-up.

2. Guangdong Province is a high-incidence area of ​​nasopharyngeal cancer. The Epstein-Barr virus is closely related to nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In Guangdong, the Epstein-Barr virus antibody positivity rate is 5%-10%, and the detection rate of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is 253/100,000. Obviously, a positive Epstein-Barr virus test does not necessarily mean nasopharyngeal carcinoma. People who are over 40 years old, long-term smokers and drinkers, and have the following symptoms: persistent nasal congestion, nosebleeds, hearing loss, tinnitus, headaches, facial numbness, double vision, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, etc., should go to the hospital for examination in time for early diagnosis and early treatment.

There are three main types of diseases caused by or related to EBV infection:

1. Infectious mononucleosis

It is an acute lymphoproliferative disease. It is more common in adolescence after the first infection with EBV. The clinical manifestations vary, but three typical symptoms are fever, pharyngitis and cervical lymphadenopathy. As the disease progresses, the virus may spread to other lymph nodes. The liver and spleen are enlarged, liver function is abnormal, peripheral blood mononuclear cells increase, and atypical lymphocytes appear. Occasionally, the central nervous system may be affected (such as encephalitis). In addition, fatal infectious mononucleosis may occur in some children with congenital immunodeficiency.

(ii) African childhood lymphoma (Burkitt lymphoma)

It is more common in children aged 5 to 12 years and is endemic in New Guinea in Central Africa and the warm and tropical regions of America. The most common sites are the face and palate. All patients had HBV antibodies in their sera, and more than 80% of them had titers higher than normal people. The EBV genome was found in tumor tissues, so it is believed that EBV is closely related to the disease.

(III) Nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Southern my country (Guangdong and Guangxi) and Southeast Asia are high-incidence areas for nasopharyngeal cancer, which mostly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people over 40 years old. EBV is closely related to nasopharyngeal carcinoma, as shown by (1) the presence and expression of the EBV genome in the cancer tissues of all cases.