Epstein barr virus igm positive

This test helps us differentiate when someone has a reactivation of the Epstein-Barr virus. We wouldn't look at this one to see if someone has a recent acute infection, however. It is more to look and see if they have a reoccurrence or a reemergence of a previous EBV infection. We call this reactivated or or latent EBV.

This can be helpful because when this test result is high, it does suggest reactivation more so than positive viral capsid IgG. The reason being when someone has fought off the Epstein-Barr virus and it becomes dormant, the early antigen d antibody should no longer present in their system.

The result would read less than 9 whatever the positive threshold is on your labs reference range. So when it is positive, it makes us think you still have lingering amounts of this early antigen d from the virus replicating. When it's high we know it's because reemergence of the virus.

We know this because eighty percent of the people will be negative many months after they've been exposed. When you have a positive Epstein-Barr early antigen d IgG and it's well above the reference range, it further increases your suspicion for a reemergence. So this is how we would look at and interpret a positive Epstein-Barr test.

With both a positive early antigen D and positive for viral capsid IgG, you should have more suspicion that this person may have reactivation. As mentioned above you can just follow these test with a PCR test to quantify the amount of virus that's there. The PCR test can be especially helpful when your are not getting expected results from your treatments.

Also you always want to correlate these tests back to the person's symptoms. For instance, if you are not really having symptoms, you may not even bother with testing in too much depth. Usually you are going to screen for this when you are having symptoms like fatigue. So that should give you a little better understanding of how to look at a positive Epstein bar test and what the test might mean with different antibody results. If you have a follow-up question on any of the content on this article, please ask it in the comment section.

If you want a customized plan on treating your Epstein Barr, click on the link below to get started. I started their weigh loss diet program and lost 32 lbs!

I have been able to reduce my blood pressure medicine, fit back in my clothes, have tons more energy Now I am back to eating and my desire for foods has changes drastically. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer.

Changzheng Chen, Email: moc. Corresponding author. Received Sep 15; Accepted May 6. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Open in a separate window. Figure 1. Data collection The clinical information about the demographic characteristics i. Acknowledgements We are grateful to all the medical staff who have treated the patients in Wuhan. Author contributions T. Funding This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests.

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References 1. Hui DS, et al. The continuing nCoV epidemic threat of novel coronaviruses to global health: The latest novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan, China: The mystery and the miracle. World Health Organization.

Yang X, et al. Lancet Respir. Sousa H, et al. Epstein—Barr virus in healthy individuals from Portugal. Acta Med. Positive Epstein—Barr virus detection and mortality in respiratory failure patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Toussirot E, Roudier J.

Epstein—Barr virus in autoimmune diseases. Best Pract. Lu JJ, et al. Association of Epstein—Barr virus infection with systemic lupus erythematosus in Taiwan. Epstein—Barr virus-associated malignancies: epidemiologic patterns and etiologic implications. Xu Z, et al. Wang D, et al. Clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia in Wuhan, China.

Huang C, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. Evidence-based approach for interpretation of Epstein—Barr virus serological patterns. De Paschale M, Clerici P. Serological diagnosis of Epstein—Barr virus infection: Problems and solutions.

World J. It will also reveal if a subset of large lymphocytes called atypical lymphocytes is also elevated. Atypical lymphocytes greatly increase in response to viral infections such as mono [ 12 ].

A normal result means that the test did not find any antibodies in your blood. In the case of the EBV-specific antibody test, a negative result likely means that you have never been infected with EBV [ 24 ].

In the case of the monospot test, a negative result may mean that you are still in the early stages of the infection and that the test will have to be repeated [ 24 ].

There are a few other viruses and parasites that can cause mono. If you are experiencing symptoms of mono and your EBV test results come back normal, you may need additional tests to identify the cause [ 2 ]. An abnormal result means that the test has found antibodies to EBV in your blood. This means that you are currently infected with EBV or have been infected in the past. Like any lab test, false-positives and false-negatives can occur.

For example, an acute infection with another herpesvirus called cytomegalovirus or the parasite Toxoplasma gondii can cause a false-positive VCA IgM result [ 25 ]. Your doctor will interpret your results in conjunction with your symptoms, medical history, and other test results. Below is a table displaying the most common combinations of results from the EBV-specific test and their interpretations [ 25 ].

Sometimes, doctors are unable to make a diagnosis given the antibody pattern. This occurs when a person has the following results [ 2 ]:. If you have any of these antibody patterns, your doctor will usually do further testing. An acute EBV infection, also called a primary infection, causes mono. The associated symptoms usually resolve within weeks of catching the virus; however, some symptoms may last longer [ 11 , 13 ].

After the symptoms go away, the virus is contained and enters a dormant phase wherein it stops reproducing itself and spreading. It is defined as a chronic illness, lasting longer than 3 months, in which a patient has high levels of EBV DNA in their blood in the absence of a weak immune system [ 26 ].

Symptoms of the disease mirror many of those of an acute infection, such as fever and swollen lymph glands. More serious complications such as an enlarged spleen and low red blood cell, white blood cell , and platelet counts occur frequently in these patients [ 26 ]. Most of those with a chronic infection will test negative for EBNA antibodies, or they may have very low levels [ 27 ]. Over time, their immune systems may fail, and if left untreated, they will develop opportunistic infections, multiorgan failure, and cancer [ 26 ].

The only effective treatment for chronic active EBV is bone marrow transplantation [ 26 ]. The most important thing is to work with your doctor to get an accurate diagnosis and to monitor your condition. There are currently no vaccines to prevent mono nor drugs approved for treating mono. The symptoms usually just run their course. Antiviral drugs have been suggested for treating mono; however, a recent review found no proof of their effectiveness, and concluded that the studies in support of the treatment were of low quality [ 28 ].

However, there are steps you can take to manage the symptoms of mono, including [ 29 ]:. After your symptoms resolve, the virus will remain in a dormant state in your body, usually without causing any further symptoms.

However, you will still test positive for some EBV-specific antibodies, and the virus may reactivate under certain conditions. If you suspect that you have a reactivated EBV infection, check out this post for more strategies to get back to full health. The EBV test is used to diagnose infectious mononucleosis.

It detects the presence of antibodies that the body makes to fight the infection. The monospot test is convenient, fast, and cheap, but less accurate. While there are no treatment options if you have mono, symptoms can be managed by resting, drinking enough fluids, and avoiding exercise.

What is the Epstein-Barr Virus Test?